Written in Ashes
by Shadowsong1
Summary: AU, breaks off at The Avatar and the Firelord, opens five years later. Spoilers up to that point. Changes in the timeline all come from one major event, explained within a couple chapters. Chapter titles indicate viewpoint char. Cowritten with Dark Puck.
1. Liang

**Written in Ashes**

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Authors' Note:** This story takes place in an alternate universe, breaking off from canon at _The Avatar and the Firelord_ (Book 3, Chapter 6), and opens five years after those events. Spoilers up to that point are prevalent. The changes in the timeline all come from one specific new event, which shall become clear shortly. A variety of OCs are involved in this story.

**Chapter 1: ****Liàng**

"Liàng, can't we rest?" asked a slender girl of about thirteen. "I'm tired."

A tall young man with black hair smiled down at her. "No, Mi-Cha, we can't. These woods are dangerous."

The two were residents of Ba Sing Se, merchants and craftsmen both. Mi-Cha was technically Liàng's apprentice, though she couldn't seem to handle much of the crafting beyond shaping some of the decorations on the jewelry Liàng made. However, the both of them together had become quite wealthy in the last four years.

That wealth, unfortunately, made them a nice target in woods such as these, full of bandits. A small group of said petty raiders was setting up an ambush a little ways down the road, baiting the trap with a small boy, the child of one of their band. He settled himself on the side of the road, and, just before the jeweler and his apprentice rounded a bend in the road, turned on the tears.

Mi-Cha noticed the boy, and let out a startled cry of dismay. "Oh…!" She began to go to him, only to be held back. "Liàng, what—!"

"We don't have time to stop, little one," he said quietly. "Keep walking. Quickly." It was cold, he knew, but he knew the risks he took when they traveled. 

"P-please..." the boy said. "I-I've lost my mom, I can't find her, please..."

"Liàng, can't we—"

"_No_, we cannot, we— Mi-Cha!"

The teenager had squirmed free and knelt in front of the boy. "Don't worry, it'll be all right," she said, smiling at him.

And then a dozen or so lightly armed bandits spilled out of the surrounding tree line. The boy stopped crying instantly.

In the time it took Mi-Cha to gasp, Liàng had pulled her away and put an arm around her shoulders. "Little idiot," he said affectionately, looking at the surrounding enemies and doing some quick mental calculations. _…I don't think I can take them all…_

Fortunately, he didn't have to. A quiet, older male voice from somewhere beyond the bandits said, "Fourteen against two, now, is that really fair?"

Liàng's hold tightened. "Who—?"

Some of the bandits, predictably, turned to face this new threat--which, upon seeing him, as the two travelers now could, through the crowd, wasn't very threatening: an older man, in his sixties, short, compact, a little rough around the edges, and leaning on a staff.

"This ain't your concern, old man," the bandits' leader said, rolling his eyes and lowering his weapon. "Move along."

Golden eyes narrowed as Liàng took in the old man, and his hands slipped around his young apprentice's waist. He leaned forward and whispered into her ear, "Get ready to hold on tight."

"I think that such a situation as this is the business of any good citizen," the old man said, his tone markedly less genial.

The bandit leader scoffed. "One last chance to get away, old man."

"Liàng, what is—?"

"Things are about to get very, very hot." 

"Well, I suppose fair play isn't often to be found in this world," the old man said, sighing theatrically.

"I warned you, old man," the bandit said, then rushed him.

Remarkably spry for a man of his age and stature, the stranger neatly sidestepped the bandit's charge and tripped him. "That really was rather clumsy of you, charging headlong like that. You have no idea whether a man carrying a staff could, for instance, do something like this." A few quick passes with his staff, and the two closest bandits were also on the ground, one with a probably shattered kneecap, and the other with a lump on his head that surely had him seeing stars.

As the old man dispatched the first three men, Liàng gathered all his strength and heaved his young partner up into the trees, where the girl caught hold of a branch and held on for dear life. The merchant turned just in time to meet another bandit's headlong rush; he sidestepped and held one of his arms straight out, catching the bandit across the chest and causing the woman's legs to fly out from under her. She landed on her back with a yelp as Liàng strode into a fifth bandit's attack; he blocked the punch, spun on one leg, and delivered a punishing side kick into the man's ribs.

The old man made even quicker work of the next two bandits, slamming the end of his staff into one's stomach and breaking the other's ankle. The child--one of the fourteen--had long since fled the scene, and one of the women was following.

Liàng casually grabbed two who tried to double-team him by the fronts of their shirts and dragged them together, bashing their heads together. When they stayed upright after he released them, he grabbed them by the hair and did it again. This time they dropped. He heard a yell and looked back just in time to see the twelfth bandit lunge for him with a sword. The merchant was barely able to avoid the blow, and delivered a hefty thump to the back of the man's head that dropped him like a rock.

The other two bandits did the smart thing and followed their companions and disappeared into the trees.

"Are you all right?" the old man asked, adjusting his hat and walking over to the young jeweler.

"Yeah, fine." He glanced up into the trees. "All right, Mi-Cha!" He held out his arms, and the girl plunged into them. Liàng hissed as a sharp pain tore through his side — apparently that miss had, in fact, been a hit.

"You're bleeding," the old man said. He dug in his pack, and produced a roll of bandages. "Here, let me help you."

Carefully, Liàng set Mi-Cha on her feet. "Thank you," he said quietly as the teenager fussed over him. "Mi-Cha, shush! It's just a flesh wound, not the end of the world."

"But it's my fault!"

The old man smiled benignly at them. "We probably should not stay here, if their band is larger, those who ran may have gone for reinforcements."

The young merchant made a face. "That's the last thing I want. The _first_ thing I want is to get out of this forest."

"Follow me, then?"

Liàng hesitated, then bowed (and winced). "We will. And thank you." The glance he shot at his partner convinced the girl to hold her tongue.

The old man bowed back, and led them out of the forest and to a small farmhouse. He tapped on the door, exchanged a few words with the woman who answered, then led the jeweler and his apprentice inside.

"Thank you for your hospitality," Liàng said politely to the woman and the old man. "I am Liàng, and this is Mi-Cha, my apprentice."

The woman said nothing, but the man smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you both. You can call me Mushi. My friend prefers not to give her name to strangers."

The merchant smiled innocently. "Of course, Mushi. Thank you for your aid, earlier."

"You are quite welcome, Liàng." He shook his head sadly. "Desperate men and women who employ such tactics are truly to be pitied."

The merchant shrugged as Mi-Cha kicked her feet. "I knew the risks when I went traveling. Next time I'll leave the girl home."

"But Liàng—"

"Not now."

Mushi nodded. "You can stay the night here, if you like. My friend has space for those who would do better not to be on the road at night."

"That's very kind of you," Liàng said after a moment. "But we must be home by tomorrow."

The older man nodded. "Very well, then. Whatever you think is best."

The merchant reached out and ruffled his apprentice's hair. "She and I have some orders we need to have filled as soon as possible." 

"The demands of trade must be met," Mushi said, not looking at the merchant. "And some trades require more time and...discretion than others."

Golden eyes narrowed very slightly. "How true that is, sir." By the time Mi-Cha was looking at him, his expression was normal once more.

"So, Liang. What sort of work do you and your apprentice do?" the old man asked after a moment of somewhat awkward silence.

"We make jewelry," he replied easily. "Mi-Cha is quite talented."

"I see," the other said, with casual interest. "And you take commissions? My grandniece has her birthday coming up, you see, and I thought I would get her something special."

One coal black brow arched. "Yes, we do. What are you interested in?"

"Perhaps a bracelet. She isn't very fond of rings. Copper, perhaps, shaped as an animal. Not a serpent, she does not care for reptiles. Perhaps a bear would please her more."

"An armadillo-bear?" Liàng asked without batting an eye.

"I don't think so. Just a bear."

Liàng folded his hands together. "I think we can do that. Would you like jeweled eyes, or plain metal?"

The old man carefully regarded the ceiling. "No jewels. It isn't like my grandniece will be calling at court."

"Ah, of course. My mistake."

Mushi turned now to Liang. "You were told to expect someone?" he asked, dropping the tone of benign interest upon hearing the jeweler's response.

"Yes. But not whom. Mi-Cha, if you will?"

"I never get to hear the interesting stuff," the teenager complained as she walked out of the room.

The old man nodded, and lowered his voice. "Our sources have confirmed it. The Earth King is dead."

"Damn!" Liàng raked a hand through his hair. "Do they know how?"

Mushi shook his head. "Officially, he was ill. There is a high probability he was poisoned, though, of course, we cannot prove it."

"Of course." The jewelry-smith rested his chin on one of his hands. "There wouldn't be evidence, and I have heard of plants that kill slowly enough that the symptoms are similar to an illness."

The old man nodded. "There are several, and he was at nearly two weeks in dying, according to our highest-placed source."

A low whistle from Liàng. "Wow. The poor man."

Mushi nodded again. "This, of course, limits our options severely. Particularly since _he_ has largely fallen out of contact this last year. There are rumors that he has been killed as well." It was clear the old man doubted the veracity of these particular rumors, but he didn't say anything.

"If he had, everyone would know. He's considered public face. It is assumed that if he were actually dead, morale would fall tremendously and the people would lose hope."

"Besides, our source in the palace has heard nothing, and is right in the Firelady's inner circle. The source is in a definite position to know, even if, for some reason, she is waiting to release the information."

"Right." Liàng sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "What of the child?"

"She'll be a year old in a week. She now rules the Earth Kingdom, with her mother as regent, of course."

"Of course." The smith idly drew a pattern on the table with one finger. "Will they return to Ba Sing Se?"

"As far as our source knew two days ago, yes."

"Damn! I'll have to step twice as carefully."

The old man nodded. "Things are getting much more dangerous for us all. We lost even the sporadic contact we had with the North Pole a week ago."

Liàng glanced through the door where his apprentice had vanished, but said nothing. The worry was evident on his face, however.

"Is there anything you can tell me?" the old man asked, his own messages now completely relayed.

"Our contact in the South Pole was killed three weeks ago," Liàng reported. "Blizzard."

Mushi swore under his breath. "Worse and worse."

"On the other hand, the merchant brat is making more and more contacts within various bandit groups. Just in case. But there's rumors of a new, independent one."

"Oh? What do these rumors tell?"

"They tell of a man who does not speak, who hides his identity behind a mask. He has only one follower, a woman. They've taken to calling him the Red Spirit, for the color of the mask."

The old man frowned. "And what has he done? Why are people paying attention to him?"

"He is an enigma. He takes only enough for himself and the woman, and communicates by writing on the ground." Liàng shrugged. "You know how people can be when a mystery pops up."

Mushi nodded. "We should look into this Red Spirit," he murmured.

Liàng rose to his feet. "Mi-Cha and I should be going."

Mushi nodded, and rose as well. "You will not make it to the city before the gates close. Do you have someplace to stay between here and there?"

He nodded. "A friend of Mi-Cha's father."

The old man bowed. "Then I wish you a safe journey."

"And I you, Mushi." The smith raised his voice. "Mi-Cha! We need to go!"

"General?" the woman said, returning. "How long will you be staying?"

The old man fell back, conferring with his hostess.

A sulking Mi-Cha exited the room she'd walked into and, making their final farewells to their hostess, the two continued on their way.


	2. Haru

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 2: ****Haru**

Early one morning, five years after the nominal end of Sozin's War, a thirteen-year-old bandit poked his partner awake with a long branch.

Groaning, the older bandit grabbed the stick with one hand and opened his eyes to glare at the teenager.

He held a finger to his lips and whispered "Travelers," pointing to a pair walking through the clearing below.

Green eyes narrowed. "Can you get closer, the Duke?"

The thirteen-year-old nodded. "Want me to just follow, or what?"

"Follow, and listen. I want to know who they are and what they're doing."

He nodded again, and slipped down from their precarious treetop campsite.

The older bandit, a man in his early twenties, quietly crawled from the hammock he'd slung so far off the ground he loved and pulled a shirt on over his head. He'd long ago lost his fear, but he would never like heights.

The younger bandit returned less than an hour later. He handed his partner a piece of paper. "This is the man. The woman's Water Tribe, I think."

Haru glanced at the man. "The Red Spirit, huh? So I guess you didn't overhear anything?"

The Duke shook his head. "No, the woman didn't say anything, and obviously the Red Spirit doesn't talk."

"They say he speaks to her with his mind." The bandit laughed. "Somehow I doubt it. Well, the Duke? What do you think?"

"I dunno," the other bandit said. "What if he's a real spirit?"

"Did you ever hear of the Blue Spirit? He was loose about five years ago — showed up right around the time the rumors of the Avatar's return hit the Earth Kingdom."

The Duke nodded. "Yeah, and he disappeared around the time Ba Sing Se fell."

"The Blue Spirit was a person." Haru glanced around, then leaned in to whisper in the Duke's ear.

The thirteen-year-old's eyes widened. "No _way_."

He nodded. "I'm not saying that the Red Spirit is that same person. But it's too much of a coincidence for him to be a _real_ spirit."

"Can't be the same person. He's dead, remember?" the Duke pointed out.

"I remember. But now I'm curious."

"Want to follow them further?"

Haru nodded. "Lead the way; I'll follow you."

The Duke nodded, and led the way down from the treetops and along the Red Spirit's trail.

His partner followed in silence, doing his best to keep from disturbing his surroundings anymore than a light breeze might. 

Despite their caution, the two bandits had very little warning of the trap that the Red Spirit--well aware he was being followed--had set for them.

Haru was no fool, but he lacked the Red Spirit's skill; he was just fast enough to throw the Duke to safety before the trap closed on him.

The Duke yelped, but, before he could react further, the Spirit himself stepped out from where he'd been hiding behind a tree, and stared silently at Haru.

The earthbender crossed his arms over his chest and stared back up at the masked man. He kept himself in the pit he'd fallen into for now — if he had to, he could bend himself out in seconds.

After a moment, the Red Spirit, without taking his eyes off the earthbender, motioned for someone in the trees to come out.

A dark-haired woman dressed in deep greens emerged and came to stand at the Red Spirit's side. Mentally, Haru compared her with Katara — he could see where the Duke might believe she came from the Water Tribes, but there were some differences, physically speaking, such as the darker hair.

The Red Spirit leaned over, possibly whispering or murmuring something to her.

_So much for mind-speaking_, Haru thought as the woman approached the edge of the hole. "Who are you and what do you want with us?" she asked.

"I am Haru," the earthbender replied. "The boy is the Duke. As for what we want, we were simply curious."

The Red Spirit stared at them for a long moment, then scratched a few characters into the dirt with his sword.

"...I can't read," the Duke said, not sure Haru could see them from his perspective.

Haru sighed, slammed his heel against the ground, and jerked his hands upward; obediently, the earth beneath him began to rise until he was on a level with the other three. As he did, the woman gasped and fled to stand behind the Red Spirit. Haru ignored that to say to the Duke, "He says he's not a friend of the Firelady."

"...How do we know he's telling the truth?" the Duke asked. He figured anyone stupid enough to say that, straight out, was either looking to die or some sort of spy.

The Red Spirit didn't respond, simply stared at them.

Haru stared back. "We're bandits, the Duke. What do we care?"

The teenager shrugged. "Just a thought."

The Red Spirit hesitated, then erased his scratch marks as best he could with his foot, and replaced them with a new set.

Haru read them, and felt his eyes wide. "That's a bold claim, spirit," he said. "What makes you think you've got a shot at her?"

The masked stranger shrugged, and refused to elaborate.

"What? What did he say?" the Duke asked.

"He said he would end her." Haru did not miss the woman's reach for the Red Spirit's shoulder, nor did he miss her pull away before contact.

"..._How_?" the thirteen-year-old managed to splutter after a minute.

The Red Spirit shrugged, said nothing, and continued watching Haru and the Duke.

After several moments of silent staring, Haru said, "Are we done here?" 

The Red Spirit once again erased his earlier scratch marks and replaced them.

"Can you just read them out loud?" the Duke asked before Haru could respond.

Haru sighed. "It says, 'what will you say of us?'"

The masked man nodded, and waited for a response.

A smile spread slowly across the bender's face. "What will we say of who?"

The Red Spirit watched him for a moment, then slowly nodded, and bowed to the two of them.

Haru bowed in return; a moment later, the woman did the same.

The Duke did as well. "It was...nice meeting you?" he said, a little uncertainly. The Red Spirit merely shrugged.

"Let's go," said Haru. "My curiosity is sated."

"Ok," the Duke said, and the two pairs went their separate ways. After a long moment, the thirteen-year-old turned to his partner and said, "So...that was kind of weird."

"You have no idea how weird it actually was," Haru murmured, looking back over his shoulder. "I wonder…"

"...What? What do you mean, 'how weird it actually was?' What do you wonder?"

Haru laughed, reached down, plucked the helmet off his friends head, ruffled his hair, and replaced the helmet. "It's not my place to say yet. Patience, the Duke. You'll find out the answers eventually."

The Duke glared up at his partner. "You're _no fun at all_."

"I know."

He sighed. After a long moment, he spoke again. "So...what are we going to do about them?"

Haru was silent for a long moment. Then, at last, he said, "The girl isn't a fighter, and courage alone won't get him to _her_." A pause, then he said, "I think we need to talk to Toph."

Another long silence passed, then the Duke said, quietly, "I think you're right. And I think I know where to find her."

"Then you do that. I'll get the word out — _quietly_ — and meet you…"

"At the old hideout?" the Duke suggested. Much of the elaborate tree house mini-city Jet had constructed was still up there, and he and Haru had used it more than once as a meeting place.

"You won't get her up there for love or money. Sure."

"What do you want me to tell Toph?"

"That there may be a true chance to end this once and for all."

"...You really think the Red Spirit has that much of a chance? I mean, 'cause even _Aang_ couldn't..."

"I think he'll need a lot of help if he's even to get that chance at all."

The Duke thought for a minute, then sighed. "I'll tell her. See you in a couple weeks, then?"

"Yep. See you then." Haru waved to his young companion, then set off to meet with his contacts.

The thirteen-year-old slipped off in the opposite direction, heading towards Toph's hiding place. _Well, at least we're adventuring again. I really hope this works_.


	3. Leilani

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 3: ****Leilani**

Leilani was surprised when Líng Hún stopped them at mid-afternoon. "What is it?" she asked him.

"We need supplies," he murmured, after checking to make sure no one was in earshot.

"Oh." She nodded. "Right. That town we just passed."

"Can you go in and look?"

"Of course." The woman hesitated; she had no money with which to purchase the supplies they might need.

Líng Hún, however, did, and handed her some. "This should be enough."

"Thank you," she replied. "I'll return in two hours."

He nodded. "I'll be here."

Her smile widened, and she turned and retraced their steps to the town. It was easy enough to find the market, and she spent the first half-hour browsing before settling in for the serious shopping.

At that point, however, one of her fellow-shoppers, a remarkably drunken man in his forties, laid his hand on her rear end. "Heeeey there, pretty lady. I think you should come home with me."

Leilani jerked away and glared up at him. "I'm busy," she snapped, not bothering to hide her disgust. She then turned back to the shopkeeper and paid him for the bedrolls and rope.

He followed her, this time trying to grope at her chest. "C'mon...I won't bite!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Come _on_--"

Before the drunk could finish, he was hit square on the head by a boomerang and dropped to the ground. A young man, around Leilani's age, wandered over and retrieved the weapon. "Are you all right?"

"Y-yes. Thank you," she said, suddenly shy in the face of her savior. It didn't help matters that something about him seemed familiar.

He grinned at her. "Good, good. Need any help with that?"

"No thank you — I've got it." She held onto the items protectively, using them as a sort of barrier between her and the man.

"All right, if you're--"

"Lee!" A young woman, about a year younger than Leilani's savior, came stalking over to them, carrying a basket full of vegetables.

Leilani looked from one to the other, and her eyes widened as she noted the family resemblance. She knew who they were.

"Kua Mei, Chang was trying to--"

"I don't care what Chang was doing, _you're_ supposed to be helping me--hey, don't I know you?"

"No, you don't," Leilani said quickly. "I need to finish my shopping." Quickly she turned from the siblings and all but fled to the next stall.

"Wait a minute--" Kua Mei followed her. "Leilani! I remember you!"

"...I knew she seemed familiar," Lee said, overly confident.

The waterbender was panicking inwardly. "No, you have me confused for someone else—"

"No, no, you were in the palace when--" Lee started, then his sister hit him.

"_Not here!_" she hissed. She turned back to Leilani. "You're buying supplies...you're traveling! There's enough there for two people...who're you traveling with? Why isn't he with you? Is he hurt?"

"He's… shy…" Leilani felt trapped, and looked desperately for an escape route.

"Shy?" Lee frowned. "He's hiding from something, isn't he."

"I— I can't—"

"Maybe we can help," Kua Mei suggested.

"No! We're fine, we don't — I have to go!" With that, Leilani fled from the siblings, clutching what supplies she'd been able to get close and leaving the town as fast as possible.

"Hey--wait--" Kua Mei chased after her.

Lee rolled his eyes. "Even when we're _hiding_..." He followed his sister.

Leilani was gasping for breath by the time she reached Líng Hún.

He leapt to his feet and started to ask what was going on, when Kua Mei and Lee caught up.

"...The Red Spirit," Lee said, with more than a little awe.

"I'm sorry," Leilani said, breathing heavily as she looked at her companion. "I didn't — they followed me, I—"

The Red Spirit nodded, accepting this, but watching the siblings warily. After a moment, just as he had with the bandits a few days before, he scratched characters in the dirt.

"No friend to the Firelady..." Lee read. Then he glared at the Spirit. "Are you _stupid_? You shouldn't go broadcasting that kind of information, it could get you killed!"

Ignoring Lee, Leilani returned the change to the Red Spirit and moved the bedrolls into the packs the two of them carried.

The Red Spirit shrugged, rubbed out his etchings with his foot, and made new marks.

"I will end her..." Lee read.

"...You'll never be able to do it alone," Kua Mei pointed out.

"He isn't alone!" snapped Leilani.

"Even with just the two of you, you'll never be able to get through all the soldiers, then her guards, and then you'll have to get through Azula herself," Lee said.

"Plus, the Dai Li," Kua Mei pointed out.

She fell silent at that, though the way she jerked her pack shut indicated her anger at the fact that they were right.

"The Dai Li still serve her?" the Red Spirit etched in the ground.

Kua Mei and Lee nodded.

He hesitated for a moment, then erased his earlier marks and replaced them with another question.

"Mai and Ty Lee, too," Kua Mei told him, quietly.

Leilani ignored them to finish with the Red Spirit's pack, then she moved some yards away from them all.

"Where does the Firelady keep her court?" the Red Spirit wrote, after a long silence.

"Have you been living under a _rock_ the past five years?" Lee asked, derisively, after reading out what he'd written.

"In a manner of speaking," the Red Spirit wrote, irritation apparent in every movement. "Humor me."

Excluded from half the conversation, Leilani gently drew water from the air — a trick she'd picked up two years previously — shaped it into a sphere, and began to idly toss it from hand to hand.

"In Ba Sing Se," Kua Mei said, with not a little bitterness. "Even if he _was_ a dick, I wish her brother had survived. Lying bastard he might have been, but he wasn't _cruel_. Not like her." She sighed. "I feel so sorry for that child..."

Leilani dropped the water she'd been playing with. "Child? There's a child?"

The Red Spirit had frozen, and wrote nothing.

"You really _have_ been living under a rock," Lee said.

"We came from the Eastern Air Temple," replied Leilani defensively. "I've been out of touch for three years."

"What about him?" Lee asked.

Irritated, hands shaking slightly, the Red Spirit quickly scratched out, "I'm a spirit. Where do you think I've been?"

"Leave him alone," Leilani snapped at the same time.

Kua Mei stepped in before her brother could snap back. "Yes, there's a child. Princess Zyra. She's a year old."

Biting her lip, the waterbender glanced at the Red Spirit.

He stared at the ground. Then, hands still shaking slightly, erased his last remark and replaced it.

"I will end her. I swear it," Lee read.

Leilani pushed herself up and walked to the Red Spirit, putting a supportive hand on his shoulder. It took everything she had not to look at Kua Mei.

"You're going to need help," Kua Mei said after a long silence. "More than just Leilani, I mean. And Lee and I could provide it."

"She's right," Leilani said after a moment.

He studied the siblings for a long moment, then nodded slowly, and bowed.

"If we're going to help you, you should probably know that my real name's Sokka, and my sister's really Katara," Lee said, clearly hoping that the Red Spirit would respond in kind. Unfortunately, when he erased his promise and replaced it, he only said, "And I am the Red Spirit."

"I call him Líng Hún," Leilani added. She would not tell the Water Tribe siblings she knew the Red Spirit's identity.

Sokka sighed. "Well, it's nice to meet you. Um, we need to get some stuff from our place before we leave...can we meet you here tomorrow at dawn?"

The Red Spirit nodded, still silent, and bowed. The siblings bowed back.

Leilani did not — she was still unhappy about the pair of them following her.

"We'll see you in the morning, then," Katara said. "And then maybe you can show me some of your healing techniques, Leilani! I didn't pay much attention when they were trying to teach me at the North Pole..."

Leilani blushed. "I'm mostly self-taught…"

"Still, I'm _sure_ you know more than me." Katara smiled at the older woman.

"I… I guess so…" The blush grew darker, and Leilani looked at the ground.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow then!" And, with that, she and her brother left.

The Red Spirit sat down heavily and stared at the ground.

Leilani knelt beside him. "Líng Hún…?"

He shrugged, and said nothing.

Uncertain, the woman hesitated a moment, then wrapped her arms around his shoulders gently. She didn't know what else to do for him.

The young man sighed, and continued staring at the ground. "She has a child..."

"That won't stop you, will it."

"I have to do this."

"I know." Leilani hesitated. "In the long run, it might be better for the daughter — for Zyra. Azula is… not precisely mother material."

"Still. How do you explain that to a child her age?"

"At a year old, she wouldn't understand anyway."

He shrugged.

Leilani hesitated, then added, "She'll be taken care of. I could look for someone to raise her after all this is over."

He shrugged again. "That's not what I'm worried about," he said, quietly.

"I know," was the whispered reply. Leilani didn't speak again, simply held the Red Spirit.

He didn't hug her back, but he didn't pull away, either.


	4. Haru 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 4: ****Haru**

Haru found Jet's former base easily — the Duke had shown him the signs and the landmarks four years previously, and Haru had a good memory for detail, being a merchant's son prior to being a bandit. Looking up at the village in the trees, Haru decided to keep his feet on the ground for at least one night.

This was, unfortunately for the young earthbender, a bad idea--if he'd gone up into the trees, he might have noticed the two young women waiting up there for bandits and rebels.

Yawning, Haru found a somewhat soft spot under one of the biggest trees and sat down. "This is gonna be a long few weeks," he muttered.

"It might be even longer," a woman's voice said, and a lithe figure dropped down, delivered a few quick jabs, and temporarily paralyzed him. "Hi there, handsome!"

Startled, Haru tried to move, and found he could not. "What the—!"

"Mai! I caught one!"

Another young woman dropped down from the trees. "Great," she said, her words a thousand times more excited than her tone. "Let's bring him in."

Green eyes went wide as Haru realized who had captured him. _No! How did they find this place_?

The first woman took advantage of his paralysis to tie him up. She grinned at him. "I'm going to have to drag you 'til your legs come back. Sorry!" She looped a rope between his legs to keep them close enough together that he couldn't run when he regained control.

"Who are you people?" Haru demanded, falling into the role of frightened, innocent traveler. "What do you want with me? What's going on?"

"Don't waste your breath," the bored woman--Mai--said. "We know you're a bandit affiliated with the Resistance."

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Haru said, injecting some of his real fear into his tone.

"Your name is Haru. You are twenty-two years old. You were with the Avatar on the Day of Black Sun, and were among those who escaped. You have since become a bandit, recruiting other groups for the Resistance and helping to run messages," Mai said. "Another fighter we captured gave you up."

"Lady, you're nuts," he replied. "My name is Wu Fei."

"Sorry, handsome, we know that's not true," the first woman said, patting him on the head. "Anyway, doesn't matter, you're our prisoner now!"

Haru fell silent, mentally swearing. This was not good in a very not-good way.

Mai and her companion brought him to a small town, where they were staying, following their mistress to the capital. They had him locked in the town's jail--which had woefully bad security, being mostly constructed to hold drunks. However, if the structure itself wasn't built to hold an earthbender, the men the two noblewomen had guarding it certainly were capable, and there were at least ten of them.

Haru decided to behave himself for now. There'd be plenty of time to escape later…

He'd been in his cell less than an hour when a reedy old man joined him there, wheeling a cart with what looked like a tablecloth draped over it.

The young bandit eyed the cart and the man warily, retreating until his back was to the wall.

"Chain him, please," the old man said, turning his back on the prisoner and examining something on the cart. A soldier entered from outside and did as he was told.

Haru fought the soldier as best he could, using every resource he had, including bending. In the end, it took six soldiers to hold him down before he brought the prison down on their heads.

"My, but you are a strong-willed one," the reedy man said, smiling slightly. He took the tablecloth off the cart and spread it out under the young prisoner.

The cart itself was full of blades of various sizes and a collection of other objects that could only be used for torture.

Green eyes went wide, and Haru spat, "I'll tell you _nothing_!"

"Oh, I'm sure you will," the reedy man said, still smiling. "Everyone has their breaking point, Haru. It is only a matter of time before I find yours."

Haru had lost all sense of time. Everything was pain to him, and he welcomed it as just punishment for his shame.

-----------------------

Late that night, one of the two women came to his cell window. Her cloak and the darkness made it impossible to tell which of the two she was, and, when she spoke, it was in a whisper. "What happens now doesn't change anything. If we meet again, I will capture you again." A few quick maneuvers got the bars off the window. "There are no guards on this side of the prison. The forest isn't far, you'll have to move quickly. Do you need help climbing out?"

"Can't move," he whispered in return. "Too much blood…"

She nodded, and stretched out a hand to him. She was wearing gloves, to ensure that he couldn't determine her identity that way, either.

Slowly, the rebel bandit accepted the hand and her help, though his hid his eyes from her.

She led him to the edge of the town, keeping to the shadows, and making sure none of the soldiers saw them. "You have maybe twenty minutes before they notice your absence and sound the alarm. Use them well."

"Thank you," he said heavily, limping away into the darkness. They had to be warned.

The double agent slipped back into her room and destroyed her bloody clothes. She prayed that no one had seen her help the bandit escape. And she prayed harder that he got far enough away before the alarm was raised.


	5. Mushi

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 5: ****Mushi**

Mushi slipped into Ba Sing Se under cover of darkness, with the intention of meeting up with his court contact again. What he was not counting on, however, was finding a wanted poster with his face. Frowning, he pulled his hood a little lower on his face and searched for a rebel homestead to hide in while he was in the city.

There was a light tug on the back of his robe, as if for attention.

He turned around, taking care to keep his face hidden.

Liàng's teenage apprentice looked up at him, her face carefully straight. "Come with me," she said softly.

He studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Lead the way."

She led him through a series of back alleys and eventually through the back of a forge into a home. Liàng waited for him there. "She found you. Good."

Mushi nodded. "May I stay here for a day or two? Just until I make contact with my source in the palace."

"Of course." the smith assured him. "It's why I sent Mi-Cha to fetch you."

The old man bowed. "Thank you."

"I keep a hidden room below the forge," Liàng explained. "Allow me to show you it."

He nodded. "Of course. Lead the way."

The tall young man showed the former general how to get into the room, as well as the methods he'd used to keep it from detection.

"Thank you for taking this risk," the old man said, once he'd been talked through the room. "I hope my source can tell me how my niece found out I am still alive."

"It's the least I can do for you, General."

He shrugged. "Still. I appreciate it."

Liàng bowed. "We must all do our parts. I must see to Mi-Cha now."

Mushi bowed back. "Yes, of course. I will send a message to our source. Hopefully, I will hear back tonight, and be able to leave by tomorrow."

"I wouldn't rely too much on luck these days," replied the smith as he quit the room.

The old man smiled wryly. "I don't," he murmured, then sent a carefully-encoded message to his source at the palace.


	6. Teo

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 6: ****Teo**

Teo stared at the scroll in front of him and sighed heavily. Another day, another project, another device to help Firelady Azula take over the Northern Water Tribe and put down the rest of the rebellion. He hated himself for the help he gave her, but he had no choice — if he didn't use his knowledge to aid the Firelady, she would kill his father.

Abruptly, the caravan stopped, and the soldiers guarding him started shouting and running around. There were a few cries of pain, and sounds of mingled splashes and explosions.

Startled, the scientist looked up from the scroll, dropping his pen and wishing he could run to the door of the wagon carrying him and see what was going on.

With no further warning than that, something cut through the floor of the wagon, and a slender, androgynous figure in a red mask pulled itself into the wagon.

Teo's grey eyes went wide as he stared at the sword-bearer. "The Red Spirit," he whispered, wondering if this was a rescue or an assassination.

The Spirit nodded, once, then offered Teo a hand, making as if to go back through the hole he'd cut in the floor.

Teo's hands moved quickly, rolling up the scroll he'd been sketching on and grabbing two others; all three he stuffed into his shirt. "I can't walk," he explained to the Spirit.

The Red Spirit considered for a moment, then nodded and pulled Teo over to the hole and through it. Then, staying low to the ground, he carried the scientist to a small camp, not far away, where a woman waited.

Silently, the woman reached out and helped the Spirit set Teo down; Teo noted with interest the way they communicated without words as the Spirit set off once more.

A few minutes later, he returned, followed by another young woman and man. The woman let out a cry of delight and ran over to hug him. "Teo!"

"Katara!" he cried in turn, clinging to the older woman desperately. "Oh, Katara!"

She clung back. "We thought you'd been killed..."

Teo swallowed. "No, Katara," he said sadly, his hold on her loosening slightly. How could he tell her what he'd done? What he'd been doing?

"...What's wrong?" she asked, picking up on his distress.

"Katara… they… I…" He hesitated, then took a deep breath. "They've been using me to design things for them."

"...Oh," Sokka said.

"You didn't have a choice," Katara said, after a moment. "They probably would've killed you if you hadn't."

"Not me," Teo whispered. "I wouldn't have cared if it was me. Katara, she threatened my dad!"

"...Oh, Teo..." she said, and hugged him again.

The young scientist clung desperately to her once more, hiding his face in her shoulder and trying his hardest not to cry.

"It's ok, Teo. Everything's going to be ok."

Unseen by either of them, the Red Spirit abruptly stood up and walked away from the campsite. Leilani hesitated, then followed him, leaving Teo to Sokka and Katara.

"What kind of stuff did they have you design?" Sokka asked after a moment.

"Let's just say," said Teo, his voice muffled by Katara's shoulder, "that I've been following in my father's footsteps."

"...Weapons," Sokka sighed.

"It's ok, Teo. You did what you had to," Katara said, glaring at her brother.

"Then why do I feel so horrible?" the younger man wailed.

Katara had nothing to say to that, so she just hugged him and glared at her brother before Sokka could say something stupid and hurtful.

The older man just sighed.


	7. Leilani 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 7: ****Leilani**

"Líng Hún?" said Leilani, some feet from the Red Spirit.

He wouldn't look at her. "Hi," he whispered, voice somewhat raspy from disuse--he hadn't spoken since Sokka and Katara had joined them nearly two weeks ago.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing."

"Then why leave?"

He shrugged one shoulder and said nothing.

Sighing, the healer sat down beside him, offering him a shoulder to lean on — so to speak — in silence.

"...We should go back. Before the others worry." He stood up, and offered her a hand.

Nodding, Leilani accepted the hand and followed him back to the scientist and the siblings.

The Spirit settled himself on the edge of the campsite and resumed staring at the ground.

"So...what do we do now?" Sokka asked. "We should probably move on before those guards recover and chase after us."

"That's probably a good idea," Leilani replied, "but how far can we get before they catch up? I'm not very fast." This was true; often she lagged behind the others.

"I'm not sure," Katara admitted. "But Sokka's right. We should try to put some distance between us and what's left of that caravan."

Teo said nothing, staring at the ground and wishing that his wheelchair hadn't been destroyed when he'd been captured originally.

"We'll probably need to get you a new wheelchair somehow," Sokka told Teo thoughtfully.

"I can build a replacement with the right tools," Teo replied. "But now's not really the time to do it."

Katara nodded. "Right. We need to move."

The Red Spirit stood, walked over, picked Teo up again, and nodded to the others to lead the way.

While the scientist did his best to think light thoughts, Leilani shouldered the Red Spirit's pack in addition to her own and followed behind the siblings.

It was late when they finally stopped--much later than when they usually made camp for the night.

"Ok," Sokka finally said, about an hour after sundown. "We should be far enough away now."

Leilani nodded as she gently put down the packs, then slowly sank to the ground. "Good," she whispered, clinging to one of them like a rock. The extra weight and travel had taken its toll on the young healer.

The Red Spirit set Teo down as gently as he could, then rubbed at his shoulders. The young scientist may not have been very heavy, but he was an eighteen-year-old and carrying him for several hours hurt.

"Sorry," whispered Teo, reaching into his shirt and pulling out the scrolls he'd grabbed.

The younger man shook his head, said nothing, and walked over to make sure Leilani was all right.

"I'll set up camp," Katara said.

Leilani had curled up around the pack she was clinging to, but at Katara's words she straightened and forced herself to rise. When she looked up, she was startled to see the Red Spirit. "Oh!"

He gently pushed her back down, indicating she should rest for a while.

"But Líng Hún, I should help set up…"

He shook his head.

"Don't worry, 'Lani, Sokka and I can handle it," Katara said.

"If you're sure," the healer replied uncertainly.

"'Course I am," the younger woman said, smiling. "Sokka, why don't you find firewood and something for dinner while I set up the tent?"

Sighing, Leilani allowed the Red Spirit to push her down, not entirely comfortable with idling while others were doing the work.

Teo, on the other hand, was busy sketching something in the dirt with a stick.

The Red Spirit wandered over to see what he was doing.

As he watched, a shape took form; within moments it was clear that the crippled scientist was designing a wheelchair.

The younger man tilted his head and studied the drawing. After a moment, he scratched characters in the dirt: "Would you like me to find something for an axle?"

Teo looked over at the writing and turned a bright, megawatt grin onto the Red Spirit. "Would you? That'd be _great_!"

The Spirit seemed startled by the grin, but nodded, bowed, and disappeared off into the surrounding woods.

About a half hour later, he returned with a long, mostly-straight stick. He sat down next to Teo, pulled out a knife and started working on straightening and smoothing it further.

"...Hey, I recognize that knife!" Sokka said, suddenly.

Teo, completely focused on his design, jerked to one side and dragged a line through the sketch. "Sokka!"

"...I do, too!" Katara said, taking a closer look at the short, straight blade. "Where'd you _get_ that?"

The Red Spirit slowly lowered it, watching the siblings, as silent as always.

"I gave it to him," Leilani said softly.

All present turned to her. "Where did _you_ get Zuko's knife?" Sokka asked, after a long moment.

"I found it after he vanished," the healer lied quickly. "I took it with me when Shing… helped me escape."

"...Then he really is dead," Katara said, almost sadly. "He never went _anywhere_ without that knife."

Leilani merely closed her eyes.

"Well, _obviously_ he's dead," Sokka said, rolling his eyes. "It's been five years. And he wouldn't've let his sister get away with everything she's done these last few years. Even if it was only because he'd want the throne for himself."

"He isn't like that!" Leilani snapped hotly.

"Wasn't," Sokka reminded her. "Azula probably killed him."

"I'm not so sure," Katara said, thoughtfully. "If he was still in favor, she wouldn't've risked it."

Teo ignored the speculation — he'd only met Azula, never Zuko, so what the prince may or may not have been like wasn't his concern — and continued work on his design. Leilani, however, opened her mouth to snap once more, but hesitated, then glanced at the Red Spirit.

The Red Spirit scratched in the dirt. "Are you so sure?"

Katara nodded. "Azula's calmer, and far too pragmatic to risk killing the heir to the throne when he's in favor."

"Then what do you think happened to him?" Sokka asked, derisively.

"To be honest? I think he probably killed himself. Why else would they cover it up?"

"It's the royal family," muttered Leilani. "They cover everything up."

"Also, if Azula killed him, they'd cover it up 'cause she's the only heir left," Sokka pointed out. "Besides, why would he kill himself?"

She shrugged. "He was a very troubled young man," Katara said quietly. "And...I don't know. When we were in the crystal catacombs, back in Ba Sing Se...I got the impression that he wasn't far from the breaking point. Between Iroh and Azula pressuring him like that...maybe it just all caught up with him a few weeks later."

Unnoticed, Leilani reached out and touched the Red Spirit's hand gently.

He didn't respond to either Katara or Leilani, just stared at the ground.

Sokka, however, snorted. "He may have been disturbed, but I don't think he killed himself. Doesn't seem to fit."

"I got it!" Teo cried suddenly, without warning.

"You know what happened to the Vanished Prince?" Sokka asked.

Katara hit him. "You finished your design?"

"I honestly couldn't care less about Zuko," Teo told Sokka. "Never met him, so what does it matter? Yes, I finished the design."

"Can I see?" Katara asked, before Sokka could respond.

"Sure!" Teo grinned at her enthusiastically.

She peered over Teo's shoulder. "Do we have everything we need to build it here?"

"Everything but the wheels," he admitted. "Those just don't occur naturally."

Sokka frowned, considering, then turned to the Spirit. "Hey, Líng Hún? Interested in some theft?"

The Red Spirit studied him for a moment, then nodded. The two young men went a little ways away to plot.

"...I should be more upset that my brother is plotting grand larceny with a masked stranger," Katara said thoughtfully.

"He's going to use it as an opportunity to find out who Líng Hún really is," replied Leilani tiredly. "And in any case, they're helping your friend here."

She nodded. "Yeah, I know."

A few minutes later, Sokka called over to Teo. "Anything else you need while we're out?"

"Just rope."

"Be careful!" Leilani called.

"Don't worry, we will!" Sokka called, waving back, then he and the Red Spirit headed out.

The healer just shook her head sadly and closed her eyes. "You mean _you_ will…"

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Leilani said heavily. She couldn't tell Katara the truth. She couldn't tell Katara how much she knew and understood of the Red Spirit's character, couldn't say that she knew who he was under the mask. She couldn't tell Katara that the Red Spirit wouldn't care if he got hurt, and would ignore any injuries he received. She couldn't tell Katara that the Red Spirit would try to keep her from healing him when he got back.

Katara frowned. "Are you sure...? You seem upset."

"I'm fine," the older woman said softly, lying.

"All right, if you're sure..." the younger waterbender said, frowning worriedly.

Leilani forced a smile for Katara and barely contained a blush. "Positive."

"Ok," she said, smiling back.

A little less than an hour later, the Red Spirit returned, supporting Sokka, dragging a bag of supplies, and limping slightly.

"Sokka!" Katara cried.

Leilani was on her feet in an instant and approached the two men. "What happened?" she asked as she helped lay Sokka down.

He hesitated a moment, then whispered in her ear. "He hit his head. I don't know how bad." Then he straightened and limped over to Teo to give him the supplies.

"...Hey, I thought he couldn't talk," Sokka said, slurring his words slightly.

"He talks to me," said Leilani simply, running her fingers gently over Sokka's head as Teo thanked the Red Spirit for the needed equipment.

He sat down, heavily, ignoring the blood on his leg, and scratched in the dirt. "Can I help?"

"Mmkay. Pretty fairies dance nice," Sokka mumbled back.

Leilani shook her head, called some water to her, and got to work on Sokka's head. This sort of healing was very difficult, since she had to fix something that was wrong inside from the outside.

"Thanks," Teo grinned at the Red Spirit.

The Spirit nodded, erased his marks, and replaced them. "What would you like me to do?"

Katara watched Leilani work. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she asked, anxiously.

While Teo and the Spirit worked together on the wheelchair, the two waterbenders worked together to heal Sokka. When she was done, though, Leilani moved from the older man to sit just behind the Red Spirit and heal his wounded leg.

He glanced over at her. "I'm fine," he scratched into the dirt, then turned back to what he'd been working on with Teo.

Unfortunately for him, his companion couldn't read; she continued what she was doing.

Katara, however, could. She snorted. "You most certainly are _not_ fine, you're bleeding."

Leilani kept her head down, her hair successfully obscuring the expression on her face.

He sighed, and focused on helping Teo rather than trying to argue the point.

When the older woman finished, she dragged herself to her feet and moved back to the pack she'd initially curled up around when they'd made camp.

He glanced over at her, and walked over. "Are you all right?" he whispered, taking care not to let the others hear, though Sokka tried very hard.

"Jus' tired," she replied, clinging to the pack like a lifeline.

"...Shouldn't've wasted your strength on me," he hissed.

She glared up at him. "I came with you for _one_ reason," she hissed back, her expression a combination of hurt and anger. "If you're not going to let me do my duty by you, then you should just leave me here!"

"That's not what I--" He broke off, as Sokka got too close. He stood up and stalked away.

"What's wrong?" the older man asked, frowning after the Red Spirit.

Leilani made an irritated noise. "Nothing!" She buried her face in the pack and proceeded to pretend nobody else existed.

The Red Spirit, irritated, scratched a few lines into the dirt, quickly. "Please tell her that I didn't mean it the way she interpreted, only that she should save her power for _true_ emergencies, rather than tiring herself on a minor injury."

Sokka, as was his habit, read the writing out loud.

"Then maybe he could deign to notice that I tended to the major injury _first_!"

He erased his marks and scratched some new ones. "And you could have let mine to heal on its own, rather than wasting your energy on it." Sokka read this aloud, as well.

"Then he should have done something other than ignore it like he _always _does! I'm done with this!"

"...Are you leaving?"

"And can you stop using me as messenger?" Sokka added, irritated. The Red Spirit smacked him upside the head. "Ow!"

"I can't read, Sokka," said Leilani, not looking at them. "And I'm not leaving. I'm done arguing."

The Red Spirit watched her for a moment, then shrugged and walked away.

Teo glanced up at Katara. "…are they related?"

"I have no idea," Katara admitted. "I've never seen his face, and he never talks."

"They act like it." He shrugged and finished tying the frame for his chair together.

"Yeah, they really do," Katara said, laughing a little.

"So, what are we doing, anyway?" Teo asked her.

The Spirit scratched a few quick marks into the earth. The older boy glanced at it. "Oh. Good luck with that. Want me to show you how to disable the machines?"

The Spirit stared at him for a moment, then nodded.

Teo cheerfully abandoned the wheelchair to take the scrolls from his jacket. "I tried to work a few weaknesses into everything that I designed," he explained as he unrolled one of them.

"Great! That's brilliant! You'd've been totally killed if Azula had found out, but it's brilliant!" Sokka said, settling himself next to the Spirit and the inventor.

"Well, she didn't find out," Teo remarked. "And I had to do what I could to help…"

Sokka nodded. "Right. So, what can you tell us?"

While Teo showed the design flaws to his captive audience, Leilani uncurled from her pack and slipped away from the camp, heading for the stream a quarter-mile away.

After a long moment, Katara followed her. "Hey, are you ok?"

"No," the islander replied after a brief pause.

"Want to talk about it?"

"It's stupid," Leilani muttered, staring at the water.

"Still. It might help to talk about it."

At last, the older woman admitted, "I… I'm mad at him, I'm homesick, I'm confused, I'm scared…"

The younger woman hugged Leilani. "I don't blame you."

"It's weakness," Leilani whispered, grateful for the darkness.

"No, it's not," Katara said, firmly. "It's being human."

"I've got to stay strong, though…"

"Why?"

"For him."

"You can't only think about him. You have to think about yourself, too," Katara pointed out, gently.

"Not when he blames himself…"

"Blames himself?" the younger woman asked, frowning.

Leilani bit her lip. "I said too much."

"Ok. Ok, you don't have to say any more." Katara hugged her again. "But it's ok to be scared and angry and homesick."

The older woman took in a sharp breath. "But what about confused…?"

"That's ok, too. Believe me."

"I'm… not so sure…"

"What are you confused about?" Katara asked.

Leilani hesitated. "I… I shouldn't say… it's wrong…"

"...Ok, if you're sure..."

She looked up into Katara's eyes, uncertain.

The younger woman smiled encouragingly. "It'll all work out. You'll see."

Leilani leaned in, but stopped, then turned away. "I… I guess you're right…"

Katara hugged her again, briefly. "You'll see."

Hesitantly, the older woman hugged back. "Okay." Awkwardly, she disengaged before she could do something she'd truly regret, grateful that the darkness hid her burning cheeks. "…we should probably get back."

Katara nodded. "If you're sure you're ready."

"I am." _And I shouldn't be alone with you again…_ Leilani quickly led the way back.

The younger woman followed.

Once they were at the campsite, Leilani finally took her bedroll out of her pack and spread it out, her mind going quickly. She'd have to be careful now…

Katara settled down into an argument with her brother about something trivial; lulled by their voices (however oddly), the island woman fell asleep.

The Red Spirit stared moodily into the darkness. As per usual, he was the last to sleep and the first to rise the next morning.


	8. Haru 3

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 8: ****Haru**

Haru had returned to Jet's old base; this time, however, he stayed under the ground in a hollow he'd earthbent for himself in order to avoid recapture. The former merchant had no doubts that Toph would be able to hear him under there.

Sure enough, two days after he'd escaped from prison, the blind seventeen-year-old, accompanied by the Duke, dug him out. "What happened?"

"Someone talked," he said quietly. "We can't use this place anymore." Haru closed his eyes and winced. "They caught me."

"Dammit," she muttered. "Can you move now?"

"It hurts, but I can manage," the older man assured her. "Right now, I want to get out of here before the Angels get back."

"Mai and Ty Lee found you?" the Duke said, aghast.

"Not just found," said Haru darkly. "They were _waiting_ for me. Not only that, they knew my name, my age, and that I was with the Resistance."

"_Damn_," the thief whispered.

"But...one of them is with us," Toph pointed out. "The General told me, but he didn't say which one."

"Yeah. That one is the reason I'm not still in prison. Or dead. But she told me that she'd have to capture me again if it came to that."

"Well, duh. She has to keep her cover."

"This would be why I'd like to get the hell out of here. If you don't mind." Haru winced and put a hand to his stomach. The old torturer had had a field day there.

Toph nodded. "Agreed. There's a safehouse not far from here, we should get moving." Without any more conversation, she dug their way out of Haru's pit.

Haru couldn't help but trail behind Toph and the Duke, but he did his level best to keep up with the younger pair. Pain would pass, after all.

It wasn't long before they reached a small house on the edge of a town. The woman who owned it embraced Toph quickly then let the three of them in. "How badly are you hurt?" she asked Haru once she'd shut and sealed all the doors and windows.

"Badly," he admitted. "I don't know the extent of the damage — my whole body hurts — but I'm pretty sure I lost a little too much blood. I've been dizzy for days."

She nodded. "Please, lay down on the couch. I'll see what I can do."

"Bian is an apothecary, and we trust her," Toph murmured, in case the other earthbender was wary.

Haru was, but he trusted Toph's senses. Without a word of protest, he obeyed, knowing he must look a mess and somewhat glad that Toph couldn't see him that way. Well, she couldn't see him at all, but that wasn't the point, was it…

_Stop that,_ he ordered himself sternly.

The apothecary re-emerged and gently removed what was left of his shirt. "Try to hold still, this will sting," she said, softly, then set to work cleaning up what the torturer had done to him.

The young man did as he was told, but he wasn't able to keep from tensing over some of the deeper or more painful wounds; at one point it was all he could do not to scream. His guilt and shame over having cracked wasn't helping, either.

Thankfully, Bian was quick and efficient--this didn't last long. "You should stay here for a day or two, at least, just to be safe," she murmured, brushing graying hair out of her eyes--golden eyes, there was Fire Nation stock somewhere in her bloodline.

Long association with the smith bastard and the Dragon of the West kept him from reacting to her eyes; after all, not everyone in the Fire Nation was happy with their monarch. "I can't," he said quietly. "Got to warn my contacts…"

"I'm connected into the entire network," Bian said evenly. "If you tell me what needs relaying, I'll see that it was relayed."

Haru chewed on his bottom lip until he thought he might bite through it, then he lowered his eyes and his voice. "I… I talked. I couldn't take it," he whispered, ashamed.

"There are worse things," she replied, just as quietly, and with no little shame herself.

"But I told them _he_ was alive."

"...The General?"

Miserable, Haru nodded, not looking at her.

Bian sighed. "Like I said. Worse things have been done to him by people he was closer to."

"But he _trusted_ me, and I—"

"And you broke," the apothecary said simply. "It happens. Believe me. _Everyone_ has their breaking point." There was definitely bitterness there.

The bitterness caught his attention and made him look up at her, but he didn't ask. "He has to be warned," Haru said at last. "And the tree house fortress is compromised. The Angels were waiting for me there; they knew who and what I was."

She nodded. "I'll relay the information."

"Thank you, Bian," he said. "My entire branch may be compromised as well — I don't know who was caught first, or how much they said."

She nodded again. "I'll make sure my contacts know."

With a shuddering sigh, Haru closed his eyes again. He was tired, and all he wanted now was to sleep for a long time.

"Sleep. If you want help, I can give it," the apothecary said, abruptly.

"No help," Haru said softly. "No drugs."

"As you like," she said, carefully indifferent.

Haru fell silent, and eventually drifted off into a painful, light sleep. 

Bian showed Toph and the Duke to a room where they could stay while they were there, then sent messages to her own contacts with Haru's information.


	9. Yù Lài

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 9: **Yù Lài

It was a beautiful, if slightly chilly, night. Yù Lài liked the night more than she did the day; darkness brought with it the moon and stars, and made it easier for her to do her work. At the moment, she was between employers, which suited her — full moons were very bad nights to do the work she did, after all, and sometimes the pretty mercenary liked to lie on her back and stare at one of the few things she considered more beautiful than she was.

And then a pretty young woman with long, fair hair drifted out of the moon. "Hello, Yù Lóng," she murmured.

The mercenary's green eyes widened, and she sat up. "Who— how do you know that name?"

The pretty woman smiled. "I see a lot, and I understand most of it." Her smile faded. "I came to warn you, Yù Lóng. You're walking on very thin ice. If you keep going on the path you've been traveling, you will be barred access to the spirit world completely."

_That_ caught the other woman's attention. "Say what now?" Her eyes were wide enough that the whites were visible all the way around.

"You heard me," the younger girl said, quietly.

"But — what path? What am I doing?" Yù Lài — or, perhaps, Yù Lóng, since that truly was her name — was clearly somewhat frightened to lose what she had.

"Your loyalties only lie with your purse, and many spirits resent this, and some of the most powerful will not deal with you or let you into their domains," she said, seriously.

Yù Lóng bit her lip. She was tempted to tell the girl that it was far safer for her loyalty to lie with the highest bidder — all right, with her purse — but she had a feeling that this would neither impress nor amuse her.

"I'm just suggesting you be careful, if you want to cross again," the fair girl said. "The situation is about to climax, and you need to pick a side."

"And what happens if I pick the wrong side?" Yù Lóng wanted to know. "Or is my purse the only available wrong side?"

"Most of what concerns the spirit is your ambiguity. The majority of us side with the Avatar, but there are some who survive with the Firelady."

"I see."

The pretty girl smiled at Yù Lóng. "Good luck, then. I hope you choose well." She vanished back into the sky.

The mercenary spent the rest of the night in silent contemplation of what she'd been told.


	10. Leilani 3

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 10: Leilani**

The Red Spirit and his companions made slow progress, due to their need for secrecy. Two weeks after Teo had joined them, Sokka got Líng Hún a small notebook. "This'll be easier to read than chickenscratching in the dirt." The younger man had bowed, and written his first words in the little book: "Thank you."

Three weeks after that, they found their path blocked by a single, slight, androgynous figure in a shapeless grey cloak.

Wary, Leilani hung back, just behind the Red Spirit; Teo, however, tried to get a better look at the figure blocking their path.

Less than a minute after the figure's appearance, Katara let out a little shriek of delight and ran over and hugged it.

"You… know him?" Leilani asked cautiously, peeking over the Spirit's shoulder.

"...Is that...?" Sokka started, then his eyes widened and he joined his sister in hugging the stranger.

A few seconds later, then Teo's huge grin spread across his face and he wheeled over to the three hugging bodies. "Aang!" he cried.

The Red Spirit froze and pulled back a bit.

"It's so good to see you again," Katara said, delighted that he'd returned from the spirit world.

"It's good to see you guys, too," the seventeen-year-old Avatar replied, grinning at his ex-girlfriend. They'd tried romantic involvement about three years before, and had learned after a couple months that their affection was far more fraternal than romantic, and they'd parted amicably. "But, actually...I'm here to talk to someone else."

"Someone else?" Sokka asked, puzzled.

In the background, the Red Spirit was seeking for a way to bolt--whatever history he shared with the other teenager, he didn't want it broadcast.

Leilani noticed, and, trembling slightly — she'd never met the Avatar, but she feared the power he wielded — stepped forward to place her body between the Spirit and the Avatar.

"You mean the Red Spirit?" Teo added, curious.

Aang nodded, turned to Líng Hún, and bowed. "We need to talk."

The Spirit stared at him for a long moment, then, very slowly, nodded.

"...We can go someplace else, if you prefer," the young Avatar said, uncertainly. The Red Spirit's relief was plainly evident in his posture.

Hesitating, Leilani looked back at him, silently asking if he was sure.

He nodded, and gestured to the other young man to lead the way. Aang bowed again, and the two of them went someplace out of earshot.

"What would Aang want with him?" Teo asked Katara and Sokka, curious.

"Well, he's planning to take Azula out, isn't he?" Sokka reminded the younger man. "It probably has something to do with that."

"Yeah, maybe…," said Teo uncertainly, wheeling back to where Leilani stood. "Are you all right?" Startled, the island girl glanced at him. "I— I'm fine."

Katara also turned to the older waterbender. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I… I'd just never met him before." But she'd seen him fight Ozai and Azula. Apart from her and the Firelady, it was likely he was the only living witness to what had happened on the Day of Black Sun.

"He's really nice. Kind of ditzy, but nice," Sokka reassured her.

Leilani nodded absently — she'd lost herself in memory again. She needed to stop that.

"I wish I could hear what they were saying," Sokka said, throwing himself down onto the ground. "Aang probably knows who he is, too."

"Sokka, is it so much to ask that you let him have his privacy?" Katara said, irritated.

"He has a natural curiosity, remember?" Teo teased Katara.

"You drink cactus juice _once_, and suddenly you're an idiot with no impulse control," Sokka complained.

"But you _don't_ have any impulse control," Leilani replied softly.

"...That's entirely beside the point."

Leilani just sighed and sat down. She was getting better at traveling now, but she still invited any chance of resting she got.

"Wonder what's taking so long," Katara asked, worriedly, after a half hour.

"Maybe we should go look for them," Sokka said, hopefully.

"Maybe Aang is telling him what I never did…" Leilani murmured, half to herself.

"What do you mean?" Katara asked, curious.

The girl hesitated. "I… I was there, the Day of Black Sun. The Firelord wanted me present just in case something went wrong…"

"So you saw," Sokka said, quietly.

The woman's answer was a shudder.

Katara hugged her, but Leilani just stared at the ground. "It was… terrifying," she whispered.

"I'm sure," the younger woman whispered back.

"I… I thought she'd kill me, too, once the Avatar retreated."

"She must've thought she'd need you," Sokka said.

"That's the only reason she didn't," was the waterbender's response.

Katara said nothing, bug hugged her tighter.

Leilani flushed and watched the ground, hoping Katara couldn't tell that her heart was beating faster.

There was another long period of silence, and still the Avatar and the Red Spirit didn't return.

"Maybe I should go get them," Leilani said at last.

"I'll come with you," Sokka said.

Leilani glared at him. "No."

"Give him space, Sokka," Katara said, siding with the other waterbender.

"Fine," the young man muttered, and sat back down.

Somewhat reluctantly, the islander slipped from Katara's hold and padded off in the direction the two men had vanished in.


	11. Aang

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 11: Aang**

"I think we're probably far enough away now," Aang said, after he and the Red Spirit had wandered in silence for about five minutes. "You can go ahead and take the mask off, now."

Líng Hún hesitated.

Aang rolled his eyes. "Come on, you and I both know I already know who you are."

The other man pulled out his notepad and wrote, "It's one thing to know, it's another to _know_."

"What are you afraid of?"

Líng Hún stiffened. "I'm not afraid," he scribbled in response.

"Then take the damn mask off, it'll be easier to talk."

After a long moment, he reached up and pulled it off. Despite what he'd said earlier, Aang felt an all-too-familiar jolt of fear, and the air crackled with tension, like right before a thunderstorm. He forced himself to relax and said, with forced lightness, "Um, hello again, your highness."

"What do you want, exactly?" the prince said, a little hoarsely, and still guarded.

"I…well, I've actually been looking for you for a while. Since about a year after you disappeared."

Zuko said nothing, as had become his habit, and just watched him.

_Ok, that's a little creepy_, Aang thought, then continued out loud. "Well, at first, it was mostly because…I guess we figured you were the lesser of two evils," he said, almost apologetically. "And if I couldn't fix what I'd screwed up, I could at least try and salvage the situation, you know? But then…well, I started digging, trying to figure out where you might have gone. I…found some stuff out." The Avatar stared at his hands for a minute, and didn't elaborate on whatever it was he'd found out. A few moments of somewhat uncomfortable silence passed, then Aang shook himself. "Sorry, just…yeah."

"It's okay," Zuko said, quietly.

"You're really going after her?" the other asked after a long moment.

"I have to."

Another pause. "…D'you remember when you broke me out of Zhao's fortress?"

"Yeah."

"I asked you if you thought there was a chance we could be friends."

After another uncomfortable silence, Zuko answered. "I can't. I just--I don't even know if--I can't. I'm sorry."

"Ok," Aang said, a little disappointed. He hadn't really expected any other response--there was something odd about this whole thing. Especially since Zuko didn't seem to have changed--or aged, or grown--at all the last five years. If he hadn't, that meant he hadn't had the time to gain a little distance from everything that had happened, the way Aang and his old friends had. The two of them were silent for yet another long moment. "There's just…one thing I don't get."

"What?"

"Where have you _been_ all this time?"

"I…don't really know," Zuko admitted, after thinking for a long minute. "It's…weird. I mean, I thought it had only been a day, then…I came out, and it had been _five years_. I have no idea how that happened."

"…Came out?" Aang asked, puzzled. "…Look, maybe you should start at the beginning."

The other man thought for a minute, then sat on the ground, picking up his mask and idly toying with it. After still another long pause, he spoke.


	12. Líng Hún's Journey, Part 1

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 12: ****Líng Hún's Journey, Part 1**

_You have more than one great-grandfather_.

Iroh's voice pounded in his head. _You can cleanse the sins of our family and the Firenation_…

Zuko snuck back into the palace--_this is too easy, easier than anything else that's happened tonight_--and his room and sat on the edge of his bed.

_Cleanse our family_.

Head and heart pounding, he closed his eyes, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

_Cleanse our nation_…

When he opened them, he was somewhere entirely different. He cried out in surprise and drew his swords on reflex.

"Calm down and put those away," an older man behind him said. Rather than listen to it--he'd always had problems with authority anyway--he slid to his feet and spun around to face this new threat.

It was one he'd recognize anywhere.

The man had died nearly a century before he was born, but there were pictures, and he'd seen enough of them to know.

Avatar Roku.

_Your _mother's_ grandfather was Avatar Roku_.

"What do you want from me?" he snapped.

"Just to talk. It's long past time."

"I'm not interested." He turned to go.

"If you go off alone, you could get lost. You could be killed." The prince paused, but didn't turn back, and the Avatar continued. "What could it hurt to hear me out?"

"Fine. _Fine_." Zuko turned back. "Say whatever it is you need to say."

The old man folded his arms, sliding his hands into his sleeves. "You're rather lucky, you know. You get a second chance to make this choice."

"I don't want it."

Roku raised an eyebrow. "You have a chance to set things right."

"Maybe. I'm not even sure I believe any of this."

"It's true."

"Why should I believe that? If it's true, why the hell didn't anyone tell me _sooner_?" _Your _mother's_ grandfather…_

"Would you have believed it?"

Silence from the prince.

"Only after everything you've been through could you possibly be ready to even consider that this might be true," Roku said, quietly, and not unkindly. "But now that you know…"

"What happens now?" Zuko interrupted. "Can you tell me?"

The old man closed his eyes, and the ground underneath the prince solidified, into a forked pathway, each direction flickering with hundreds of images. He turned to the left. Some of the images played out to their conclusions. All of them seemed to end with the prince's own violent demise. He turned to the right. More of the same. Some of the images played out to their conclusions. All of them seemed to end with the prince's own violent demise.

He looked up at Roku. "What does this mean?"

"I can't tell you which specific image will come true," he replied quietly. "There are too many--"

"They all end with me dying."

"Everyone dies."

"Let me get this straight," Zuko said, frowning at the path. "Whatever I choose, I'm going to get killed. Messily."

"There's no guarantee--"

"Just answer the damn question."

"That is…the most likely option, yes. But if you choose well, you have the chance to die for--"

"_Shut up!_" Zuko shouted. "Just _shut up_!"

He turned his back on his ancestral enemy (_your _mother's_ grandfather was Avatar Roku_--_cleanse our family_--_cleanse our nation_) and ran as far and as fast as he could.

"Wait!"

Leave me alone. Everyone, leave me _alone_.

_Because of your legacy, you alone can cleanse the sins of our family_…

I'm not your tool, I'm not your toy, I will not be your martyr.


	13. Líng Hún's Journey, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 13: ****Líng Hún's Journey, Part 2**

"There's another option, you know," another elderly male voice said, gravelly and amused.

There were times when it took Zuko quite a while to recognize obvious patterns and facts. This was not one of those times.

Firelord Sozin. But of course.

"I suppose you have more wisdom of the ages for me?" he said, sarcastically.

"No." The old man smirked a little. "Just the facts, plain and simple."

_That would be nice, for a change_. "All right. So, what's this third option? Way I see it, it's pretty much either/or."

"It would be. But you're here in the Spirit World in both body and soul. Which means you can stay here."

The prince blinked at his forefather. "…Stay here?"

"Are you a sparrowkeet, boy?"

"No."

"Then stop repeating me."

Silence for a moment. "What happens if I stay?"

Sozin shrugged. "You stay here, free from further pain, never changing. You get peace you'll never get if you go back, no matter what you choose. Violence is bred into you, boy. You can only escape it by staying here."

Zuko was silent for another long moment. "Is it the ri--"

"Wrong question," his great-grandfather cut him off. "This isn't about right or wrong, boy. Nothing in your life is about right and wrong. Hell, you've _earned _the chance to stay here. What you've been put through, and what you've been asked to do…it wouldn't be right, or _fair_ to ask that kind of sacrifice of a grown man, let alone a child." He held up a hand for silence. "Don't give me that look, boy, you're barely seventeen. Whatever the letter of the law says, you're _still_ a child."

The prince glared at the ground. "Then what would be the _right_ question?"

"Is it worth it? You will find, boy, that every action has consequences. To do what you want to do--or what you feel you have to do, they generally end up being more or less the same--you will have to make sacrifices, and take steps that delve into the grey areas of morality. You can't ask yourself if it's right or wrong. That, frankly, is shortsighted at best, just plain stupid at worst. You have to ask yourself if it's _worth it_." The old man eyed his descendent. "So, boy? Is going back and dying worth dying for the 'right thing,' whatever that may be?"

"What happens in the real world if I stay?" Zuko asked, after thinking for a few seconds.

"Do you really need me to answer that? You and I both know what you're going to chose."

"Humor me," he replied, dryly.

"That airbender boy makes his try for your father. Whether or not he succeeds, sooner or later, your father dies. With you gone, that means your sister takes the throne. Now, this sudden influx of responsibility might help curb her mad cruelty. It might not." He shrugged, fluidly. "Are you a gambling man, boy? Do you like those odds?"

"How do I get out of here?"

Sozin laughed. "Such a shame the odds are against you, boy. You'd have been one of the great ones."

Zuko wasn't quite sure what to say to that.

The older man pointed off into the inconstant mist. "There's a doorway in that direction. It will let you out where you came in. You have to be careful, though--you're not a particularly spiritual. Without help, it's nearly impossible for you to cross back and forth. The door will be open until sunrise in the material world. If you miss it, I can't tell you when and where you'll come out. No one can."

Zuko nodded, and bowed, then hesitated a moment. "Can I ask you something?"

"Do it fast."

"Do you ever regret it? The war?"

Sozin smiled wryly. "That would be telling, wouldn't it. Get moving, boy." He looked at the younger man, with a very odd expression. "Fight the odds. Prove us all wrong, and be great."


	14. Líng Hún's Journey, Part 3

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 14: ****Líng Hún's Journey, Part 3**

Zuko was almost out of the spirit world when things got very, very complicated. The complications came in the form of a large, lizardtiger-like monster, who attacked him from behind. Bending being impossible in this world, he barely managed to draw his swords in time to deflect the claws from his heart onto his side. He cried out and fell back, scanning for further monsters, as the lizardtiger charged him again.

Without warning, a young woman with long brown hair dropped from above, turning her fall into a flip and slamming the heel of her shoe against the lizardtiger's head, driving it jaw first into the ground. Using the rebound from the strike, she flipped backwards now, landing in a crouch just in front of the prince, her back to him.

"Thank you," he murmured, keeping a watch for further monsters.

"You lost, stranger?" she asked him, rising to her feet. She kept her back to him.

"In a manner of speaking," he replied, watching her carefully.

"Need help getting back to the real world?"

He started to respond in the negative, then looked around. The door Sozin had pointed him towards, the one that would put him back in the palace, had vanished. "...Yes."

The girl turned to him, and smiled, offering her hand. "Then come with me, stranger."

"...How do I know I can trust you?"

The pretty smile became more genuine. "Because I'm being well-paid to see you safe."

He blinked. "What do you mean?"

"My client is worried about you, stranger. He had me fetch you home."

"...your client."

She smiled. "Can't tell you that, stranger. But he's a friend, at least."

"How do I know you're telling the truth? My father has a lot of enemies. Hell, _I_ have a lot of enemies."

"Look at it this way, stranger," she said. "If I meant to hurt you, I would have let the beast do it." She then leaned in uncomfortably close and whispered, "Not to mention it _is_ fairly obvious who you are…"

"Yes, I _know_," he snapped. He glared at her for a long moment, then eyed the beast. "...It appears I have no choice but to trust you."

She bowed, the pretty smile back in place. "I get that a lot. I assure you, stranger, that you can trust me so long as the money is good."

He eyed her, still suspicious, and then shrugged, definitely _not_ wincing as this pulled on the gashes the lizardtiger had managed to carve into his side.

The pretty girl led him through the spirit world without incident, and eventually they found another door. "Come, stranger," she said lightly. "This place is abandoned."

He nodded once, and bowed. "Thank you. I really hope you haven't screwed me over."

"If I did that, I wouldn't be paid!" She laughed and opened the door. "You first, stranger."

He nodded, and went through the door, and looked around at the quiet, starlit, crumbling balcony.

"This...is not the palace."

"I never said it went there, stranger." The girl walked to the edge and glanced down. "This is the Eastern Air Temple."

"...Oh, boy," he said. "_This_ is going to be fun to explain."

She glanced at him. "…I think, stranger, that you will find that many things will need explaining. And that to return to the palace may lead to your death."

Zuko shrugged. "A lot of things may lead to my death. I need to go home and figure out how to explain to my father how I ended up clear on the other side of the world."

Green eyes met his calmly. "I don't think that will be a problem."

"...What do you mean?" he asked, slowly.

"You've been gone much longer than you think, stranger."

"I've been gone one day," he said. "I went to bed last night, and woke up in the spirit world. I spent the day there, and now I'm here."

She looked out at the moon. "No, stranger. It's been five years."

"...That's not possible," the prince said, flatly.

The girl shrugged. "Not my problem. I've done my job." She stretched. "You should probably get some sleep. Perhaps you will find somebody better than I who can explain the world to you, stranger."

"You're lying," he said, quietly. Then, louder, "You're LYING!"

She smiled. "My name is Yù Lài, yes. But that isn't the lie. What would I gain from this? Nothing. Get sleep, stranger."

He shook his head, staggered a bit, and fell to his knees. "You're _lying_," he insisted, dizzy. His side was still bleeding.

Yù Lài knelt beside him. "Why would I lie about this?"

"How the hell should I know? I don't _know_ you," he snapped, woozily.

She sighed. "Well enough. You will sleep soon, whether you like it or not."

"Go away," he said, dully. "I don't want you here. You're a liar."

The girl laughed. "If only you knew the real lie." She turned on her heel and strode away.

_I have to go home. I have to get home and prove she was lying_, he thought, vaguely. Before he could make any move to do so, everything went black.


	15. Líng Hún's Journey, Part 4

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 15: ****Líng Hún's Journey, Part 4**

Leilani woke with the dawn. It was habit, since most nights she dared not risk a fire and would therefore sleep with the sun, and it enabled her to keep a somewhat loose idea of time. Yawning, she pulled her outer garments over her shoulder and walked towards the spring. Bathing was a part of her morning ritual, a way for her to wash off both the grime of the previous night's sleep and of her past.

At precisely that moment, a low balcony on the temple--no more than five or six feet high--crumbled and fell to the ground.

And there was a body among the rubble.

Blue eyes went wide, and she dropped her clothing and ran to the body. _What? This can't — there shouldn't have been anyone here_! she thought frantically, trying to cover her wonder if the person was all right. 

The body belonged to a young man--no more than sixteen or seventeen. Aside from the bruises associated from the fall, there were four messy, barely-scabbed-over gashes on his side. He was unconscious.

…_no choice_, she thought. Turning, she reached for the water and called it to her, then knelt beside the young man's body. The water she had bent wrapped around her hands and began to glow, and she altered her focus, concentrating on healing his wounds. _Something… is familiar…_

When she was about halfway done, he moaned a little, and started to come to.

"Shhh," she said automatically. It had been some time since she'd actually found reason to speak, Leilani realized even as she continued the healing.

"...Do I...know you?" he asked, trying to sit up.

"Stay down," she whispered, trying to find her voice. "You're not ready to—"

"I'm fine. Where have I seen you before?" The young man looked bewildered.

"I don't know," she replied honestly, in a normal tone. Her voice cracked halfway through; had it been that long since she'd used it? "Don't turn, I'm almost—"

He turned.

Leilani gasped. "P-prince Zuko!"

"Well, yes, obviously...I _do_ know you." He frowned, studying her.

Hurriedly, the woman bowed. "Yes. I am Leilani. I… I healed you, one time. Your father had me brought in—"

"When I broke my arm, a few weeks ago," he said. "I remember now. But...that doesn't make any sense." He frowned. _Unless that girl last night was telling the truth_...

Blue eyes searched his face even as she kept one hand against his healing wounds. "A few weeks… oh, Prince." She dropped her gaze and her hand. "It's… it's been five years."

"...That's not possible," he said flatly. "I went to bed last night, after Uncle told--well, never mind. Then I...was here, the next night." He figured it was better not to mention where he'd spent that day to just anyone.

"That's… it doesn't make sense," she whispered. "You've been gone for five years. It—" Her voice broke again, and she raised her hand to her throat. "Things have changed, prince. So many things."

"...Five years," he whispered. "Five _years_." He buried his head in his hands.

Leilani hesitated, then reached out and laid her hand on his shoulder. How could she tell him? _What_ could she tell him?

He took a deep, shuddery breath, and then raised his head. "What's happened, these past few years?"

"There was an invasion on a day when the sun went dark," she said. "It failed, but… they say that the Avatar accomplished his goal that day, somewhat. Firelord Ozai died on the Day of Black Sun, and Firelady Azula took the throne."

"...And then what happened?" he asked, dully.

"She beat back the invading force. Prisoners were taken, but the Avatar and his friends escaped. The prisoners were executed, and then she went on an aggressive campaign. The Northern Water Tribe… is the last holdout."

"So my sister rules the world."

Leilani nodded. "Yes. Nobody knows what has become of the Avatar and his friends." She paused. "Or at least they hadn't the last I heard."

"When was that?" he asked.

"About three years ago," she replied, dropping her gaze once more. "That's when…"

"When what?"

She bowed her head. "A soldier who was my caretaker… I guess he grew to care for me as a person, rather than a commodity useful to the Fire Nation. He engineered my escape."

"And you ended up here," he said, quietly.

"Yes. It's large, there's many places where I can hide, and…" She sighed. "It's the only place I feel safe."

He nodded, then was silent for a long moment. "I take it Azula tapped the comet?"

"Yes, prince."

He stood up, ignoring the fact that she probably wasn't done with his side, and walked away, fists clenched.

She rose to her feet. "P-prince!"

"I should go," he said, quietly. "Thank you for your help, and your information."

"Where will you go?" she asked him.

"Where is my sister's capital?"

"I don't know," she replied. "She… was speaking of moving to Ba Sing Se when…"

He nodded. "Thank you again." He continued on his way away from the temple.

"Prince…" She was torn. He was hurt, badly — not outwardly, where water could fix it, but inwardly. The news of his long absence, and what had happened while he was gone, had damaged him, and the healer couldn't help but feel guilty for it, even though he would have learned it himself eventually. Should she go with him? Or should she forget about him, and remain where it was safe?

The healer sighed, and returned to her fallen clothing. Maybe a bath would clear her mind.

Leilani paused as she pulled her top over her head. _No… I can't leave him on his own out there. If she finds out, she'll have him killed. I can't protect him, but… maybe I could… help him._

He kept moving, just kept moving. He'd need to find a way to get to his sister--Ba Sing Se, or all the way across the world if she was still back home, in the palace. _I'll need a way to travel in disguise there. I'll need a mask. I'll need...to make her pay_...

He needed to disappear. He laughed a little to himself. _I've already disappeared. I've been missing for five years_.

Late that night, he snuck into a nearby town and stole a mask--not unlike the one he'd used as the Blue Spirit, but simpler, without the intricate white patterns and horns, and red. He put it on, resolving not to take it off until he could look into his sister's eyes and end the messes their family had made. Once and for all.


	16. Yù Lài's Client

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 16: ****Yù Lài's Client**

It took Yù Lài the better part of a day to reach the contact point with her client. She hated dealing with the man, but this was the only way he would pay her and she was too afraid of him to give away his location.

The man--a young man, he was only seventeen--was waiting for her at the usual spot, eyes closed, meditating.

"I did as you asked," the woman said, standing in front of him.

"You found him and brought him out?" Apparently, meditation didn't necessarily mean the young man was entranced, unaware of his surroundings.

"Yes. He didn't trust me, but I didn't expect that."

"Where did you come out?"

"The Eastern Air Temple."

The young man nodded. "Ok. Then he should manage to survive long enough for _me_ to get in touch with him."

"I think you underestimate how stubborn he is," Yù Lài said wryly.

The young man smiled back, with a great deal more wryness than would have been present when last he met the Vanished Prince. "Trust me. Once he hears what's going on, he'll make _sure_ he survives long enough."

"Unless he pushes himself to collapse."

"That could be a problem." The teenager frowned. "Well, I'll just have to find him quickly, then."

"I doubt he's still there."

"I'm sure of that. But I know where he's going."

Yù Lài bowed. "Is our business concluded, then?"

"For the moment, yes. I may need you again later."

The mercenary sighed. "Of course. My pay?"

The young man nodded, and pushed a small sack to her. "As we agreed."

Yù Lài picked it up and slid it into a slightly larger pouch. "Good day."

"Good day."

With that, the woman turned on her heel and walked away.

The teenager smiled, unfolded himself, and turned to the lemur half-napping on a rock beside him. "What d'you think, Momo? Time to look up an old friend slash enemy?" The lemur cooed and ate a bug. The young man laughed. "Yeah, I think so, too."


	17. Líng Hún's Journey, Conclusion

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 17: ****Líng Hún's Journey, Conclusion**

Leilani was tired. She hadn't traveled this long since she had first fled to the Eastern Air Temple, and while going down was much easier than going up had been, she was pretty certain she'd covered more distance this day than she had in the last six. _What are you doing?_ she thought. _Do you think you could really follow him? The prince spent three years in the company of the Dragon of the West. He had to have learned many things about traveling without leaving traces…_

Sometime, during those thoughts, she'd been surrounded by about half a dozen men and women, all adults, in mottled green clothing, meant to blend in with the treetops. All were armed.

The young woman gasped when she at last realized the danger. Turning, she sought an escape, her eyes wide. "P-please…"

"Just hand over your money and everything you're carrying," one of the women--the apparent leader--said, in a bored voice, "and we won't hurt you."

One of the men, however, was eyeing the waterbender in a way that suggested otherwise.

"I-I don't have any money," she said, trying to shrink in on herself. "I don't have anything; please, leave me alone…"

"Well, then," that man drawled, "I think we can--" He broke off, having received a sword hilt to the head. Within moments, the other five bandits were quickly incapacitated as well. A slight, fairly androgynous figure in a plain red mask proved to be the cause of this. It regarded her, silently.

Frightened, trembling, Leilani backed away. "I-I don't have anything, I'm nothing, I…" She tripped and landed hard on her rear end; crying out in pain, she crawled backwards until her back was pressed to a tree. "Please don't hurt me…"

It put its sword away, and silently offered her a hand up.

Hesitantly, she reached out and accepted the hand.

It pulled her up, gently. Upon closer inspection, the figure's shirt was torn on the right side, revealing four parallel scars, like claw marks.

Leilani's eyes went wide, and she looked up into the eyeholes in the mask.

Whatever the figure's eyes held was hidden. It seemed to figure out she knew what the scars meant, and nodded. It pulled away a bit, hesitated, then gestured for her to follow.

Leilani nodded, and settled in behind the masked man. After awhile, she spoke. "Thank you for saving me."

He nodded, and led her to a small, very secluded campsite. After a moment, he offered her some of the food he'd made for himself.

She hesitated, then accepted. "Thank you." She ate quickly, neatly, and not much at all.

He watched her. After a long moment, he scratched something in the dirt, clearly intending for her to read it.

Leilani looked at the characters, then looked away. "I… I can't," she whispered.

He sighed. "Why did you follow me?" he asked, abruptly.

She glanced up at him. "I… I don't know," she answered honestly. "I… wanted to help you, somehow. But all I can offer you is my healing ability…"

"It's too dangerous," he replied.

"I know that it's dangerous, pr— I know. But… I accept that danger."

He shook his head. "I can't ask you to risk this."

"You never asked me," Leilani replied, smiling slightly. "I chose this."

"I should take you back," he responded.

"Will you?"

"...Would you stay?"

"…if you ordered me, I might." She looked up at the sky. "I spent so long obeying your countrymen, your father, your sister." Leilani sighed. "But three years of freedom may have ruined me for obeying orders."

He sighed. "This is dangerous. What I have to do...you can't be a part of."

"It's too late for that," she replied, looking at him. "I was made part of this nine years ago."

He shook his head. "You don't understand."

"Probably not," she admitted, then something darkened her eyes. "Or maybe I do. Still… let me come with you. Even part way. If you're killed on the way to your end goal, you'll never accomplish it."

He thought for a moment. "I...suppose you're right."

She bowed silently.

He bowed back. "I'm getting moving at dawn. I can't slow down for you."

"I understand. I'll do my best to keep up." She hesitated. "What shall I call you?"

"...I don't know," he admitted.

She looked at him for a moment, then smiled. "A red mask… to wear your soul on the outside?"

"...It was the first one I saw," he admitted. "I just wanted to get it and get out."

"Líng Hún…" She reached out to touch the mask. "Your intentions do not matter. What people believe…"

"What do people believe?" he asked, wryly.

"Belief is a powerful force," Leilani said, drawing her hand away. "The power it grants is not tangible, but it is there all the same."

"That doesn't really answer my question," he pointed out.

"Right now? I don't know." She smiled wryly. "I have been out of touch."

"Right. Right, sorry, I forgot." He sighed. "You should sleep. Like I said. We're leaving at dawn."

She nodded. "As you say, Líng Hún." She nestled against a tree and closed her eyes.

For his part, the masked youth stayed awake, staring moodily off into the distance. "This is right," he whispered, and he almost believed.


	18. Leilani 4

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 18: ****Leilani**

The Red Spirit was just winding his story to a close, actually speaking, and had removed his mask for the first time since acquiring it just outside of the Eastern Air Temple.

Leilani was fervently glad she'd insisted Sokka stay behind as she came into the open. "Excuse me," she said tentatively.

The two young men looked up. "I guess they're looking for us?" Aang asked.

"Yes," she replied, looking everywhere but at the Avatar.

"Then we should probably head back," he said.

"Right," the Red Spirit said, replacing his mask.

"...Or you could leave the mask off, and--"

"No."

Leilani remained quiet, her eyes now firmly on the ground, waiting for the two young men to pass her.

"...Are you all right?" Líng Hún asked in an undertone as he passed her.

"Yes," she whispered back, falling into step behind him and rubbing her chest just under her collar bone, where phantom pain lingered yet. "I'm fine."

"...All right, if you're sure," he said, somewhat doubtfully, and turned to follow Aang back to the others.

Just their luck, they happened to run across a patrol of soldiers. There was a moment of silence when the two parties stared at one another.

"The Avatar!" one of the soldiers finally said.

"...Fuck," Aang muttered.

Eyes wide, Leilani took a few steps away from the Avatar and the Red Spirit — she didn't want to be in the way again…

The Red Spirit pulled her behind him, and whispered, barely audible, "Go back to the others. Now. Run." Then he drew his swords and stood ready, next to Aang, waiting for the soldiers to make their move.

Frightened, the island girl did as she was told, running back and almost tripping over Teo's chair as she burst into the camp. "Soldiers!" she gasped out.

"How many?" Sokka said, grabbing for his sword and boomerang.

"Fifteen, I think," she replied, trembling.

Teo wheeled his chair around. "Good luck," he wished the Water Tribe siblings. "I'll guard the camp."

"Ok. We'll be back as soon as we can," Katara said, as she and Sokka ran to help their friends.

The young scientist managed to get Leilani calmed down and had her fetch some water to treat injuries; he then sat with a crossbow in his lap and calmly tore one of the spare shirts into strips for smaller injuries that wouldn't require bending.

About ten minutes later, the four fighters made their way back to camp. "Any problems here?" Sokka asked.

"One," said Teo calmly. "Leilani got him with the pot, though. I had her tie him up in case you want to question him when he comes to."

Sokka grinned, a little ferally. "Excellent."

"Is… is anyone hurt?" Leilani asked, still a bit shell-shocked at her bold action. Teo had had to talk her into putting the pot down.

"Aang broke his arm, and the Red Spirit tackled Katara to get her out of the way and got scorched a bit. Nothing other than that," the warrior replied.

Leilani nodded. "A—Aang?" she said then, hesitantly.

"Can you set this?" he asked, gesturing to his left arm, and smiling.

"I can fix it," she said softly, keeping her eyes down.

"Great!" The Avatar grinned at her. "I really appreciate it."

Leilani managed a small smile as she bent water to her and started it circling around Aang's arm. As always, fixing internal damage was more difficult than external, but she maintained her focus tightly; in under an hour, she'd healed his arm completely.

"Thanks!" he said, managing another smile. That had hurt a lot. But at least he could use his arm now.

"Glad to help," she said softly, bowing politely before excusing herself. She needed sleep; hopefully she'd stay awake long enough to get some food in her.

Katara, meanwhile, had only just managed to persuade a sulky Red Spirit that he needed to let her help him, and Sokka had put together some kind of dinner.

"Hungry?" he asked Leilani, offering it to her.

"Yes, please," she replied, fighting a yawn and accepting the food. While she wolfed it down, Teo, with some ingenuity and long sticks, managed to get Leilani's bedroll set up and waiting for her when she was done eating.

Aang wandered over to get some food himself before Sokka ate it all.

Interestingly, the island woman still would not look at him; she fled to her bedroll as soon as she finished and curled up inside it.

Aang frowned in her general direction, pensively. He remembered her from where she'd been on the sidelines of his duel with Ozai--even if he wasn't going to say anything. Those memories were memories he'd just as soon let die, and he doubted she felt any different.

Teo wheeled over to eat, keeping an eye on their prisoner all the while. "At least some things are going right, now."

"Don't say that, you'll jinx it," Sokka said absently.

"We're all jinxed anyway," the scientist told him, then turned his attention to the Avatar. "Which reminds me, Aang, I need to show you some diagrams."

"Oh? What of?"

"Some of the Fire Nation's vehicles. More importantly, their weak points."

"That'd be good to know!"

Teo grinned at him. "I figure we can look them over while Sokka talks to Sleepy over there."

"Good idea." He grinned back.

Right about that time, the unconscious man groaned in pain and began to stir.

Sokka, once he was done eating, wandered over to the soldier and tapped him on the head, as if knocking on a door. "Anyone home?"

The man swore at him.

Sokka swore back.

This only earned the Water Tribe warrior a glare.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," Sokka said, easily. "But if you tell us what you know, I might be inclined to forgive you."

"Corporal Li Shang, Fire Nation Army, 645-648," was all the soldier would say in return.

"...I'm sure you know more than _that_," Sokka said, sounding vaguely aggrieved.

"That's all you're getting," Shang snapped.

The younger man sighed. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to keep you and indoctrinate you into our group, and then you'll tell us everything."

This earned a snort from the older man. "I doubt it."

"Wait and see," the Water Tribesman said cheerfully, and knocked him out again.

"You know," remarked Teo, "if you give him permanent brain damage, he'll never be able to tell us a thing."

"I didn't hit him _that_ hard," Sokka complained.

"I'm just saying that if you knock him out every time he wakes up or that we finish with him, it probably will hurt him permanently, and then we'll have to lug him around instead of making him pull his own weight."

"Fine, next time, I won't knock him out." Sokka rolled his eyes.

Teo nodded and went back to pointing out the intentional design flaws to Aang, glancing up every now and then to check on Katara, the Red Spirit, or the unconscious soldier.

Aang listened attentively to Teo's mini-lecture, though he also occasionally glanced over at the others, to see what they were up to.

Katara had finished cleaning the Red Spirit up, and the two of them were sitting together, somewhat awkwardly, and pointedly not looking at one another. After a minute, the young man got up to check on Leilani.

The older woman was deeply asleep, but it was not a happy sleep — she whimpered once, and shifted constantly, fear chasing across her face.

He glared at the ground, and settled himself down next to her in case she woke up and needed anything.

She settled down after a while; but when most of the camp had fallen asleep and he was drifting off himself, the woman woke with a startled, frightened gasp.

He reached out and took her hand, to reassure her he was still there, and nothing was going to happen.

Fearful blue eyes looked up at him, but then she smiled and squeezed his hand gratefully. "Thank you," she whispered quietly.

He nodded, not wanting to accidentally give himself away if one of the others was still awake.

It was clear she understood. Squeezing his hand again, she laid her head back down and soon fell asleep again.

Across the way, Shang watched through slitted eyes, so as to feign unconsciousness.

The Red Spirit wasn't fooled. He looked over at the other man, then stood up and sat next to him. He knelt right next to the captive and stared at him. He had learned that a masked man staring was rather unnerving.

Shang stared back gamely for a time, but eventually broke it off to look at a tree nearby. It was difficult to maintain a staring contest when you couldn't see the other contestant's eyes.

After a moment, there was a faint ripping sound and the masked man held a piece of paper in front of him. "How long have you been with the army?"

The corporal was silent for awhile, then said, "Four years."

The younger man's shoulders slumped, he seemed disappointed. After a long moment, he gave the corporal another sheet. "I was never in the army, exactly, but I traveled with soldiers for a while."

One coal-dark eyebrow arched at this. "Good for you. Want a medal?" Shang was not inclined to be polite to his captors, especially not a man behind a mask. Especially not with his head throbbing with every word he spoke.

"My uncle and cousin were both soldiers. And now they're both dead," the Spirit wrote back.

"It happens in war," he pointed out. "I may die."

A long "silence" from the younger man, then, "I _will_ die."

"…why are you telling me?"

"I can't tell the others. They might try to stop me."

"That doesn't answer my question," Shang said. "It doesn't explain why you'd tell an enemy."

"You're not my enemy," the masked man whispered.

"…huh?" Shang asked intelligently. _That_ had thrown him.

The younger man hesitated for a long, long moment. "...I'm going to regret this," he murmured, barely even audible to the soldier. "I _know_ I'm going to regret this." He deliberately turned his back on the rest of the camp, slowly reached up, and removed his mask.

Brown eyes went wide. "Im… im_poss_ible," Shang whispered, unable to speak louder. He stared at the younger man, taking in every detail of his appearance. "Impossible," he said again.

"Obviously not," the younger man whispered.

"But— how—"

"I was in the spirit world. Only a day passed for me from when I went in and when I came back out. But for everyone else, it had been five _years_."

There was silence from the soldier for a long moment, then he said, "My cousin crewed on your ship six years ago."

"...I apologize to you in his stead." The young man bowed slightly.

Awkwardly, Shang returned that bow.

"So, like I said," the young man said, after a very awkward moment, replacing his mask. "You're not my enemy."

"No," the soldier said softly. "I am not."

"Even if you serve Azula."

"I serve the Fire Nation," Shang corrected him.

"Azula is Firelady," the Red Spirit shot back.

"My family has served the Fire Nation since before the monarchy was established. My loyalty lies with my country."

He stared at the soldier for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I have to set things right," he said softly. "I'm going to kill her."

Shang's jaw dropped; it took all his control to keep from yelling. "You're going to— you're right. You _are_ going to die."

The Red Spirit smiled slightly--not that the older man could tell, as the mask had been replaced--and shrugged. "If I can do this, set this right, I _have_ to. Everything has a price. I'm willing to pay it. The world is worth more than my life."

Shang considered his words, and then nodded slowly.

"Duty is duty, even for a dead man," he said, almost sadly, under his breath.

"We all have our duties," the soldier replied, "and I, Li Shang, recognize my duty to you."

Surprised, the younger man turned to him. "What are you saying?"

The soldier smiled slightly. "That I believe you are better for the Fire Nation than its current ruler."

"I'm dead. Even if I weren't on a suicide mission, I've been dead for five years," he pointed out.

"I told you: my loyalty lies with the Fire Nation, not the monarch."

"Then your duty lies with Princess Zyra, not me."

"The princess is only a year old," Shang pointed out.

"I've made arrangements for her. I'll recopy all the papers and give you a set, too, just in case the person I gave them to gets killed, as well."

The soldier hesitated, then nodded. "All right."

"Thank you. I appreciate it."

Shang bowed again, awkwardly.

The younger man bowed back, then stood up and walked back to keep watch over Leilani.

Sighing, the soldier leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes, considering what he'd just done.

Across the clearing, the masked assassin was doing the very same thing.


	19. Liàng 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 19: ****Liàng **

It was nearly two weeks before Iroh's agent in the palace was able to make contact with him. Said contact came in the form of a knock on Liàng's door at some ungodly hour of the night

The smith groaned as he pulled himself out of bed and went to answer it.

A heavily cloaked young woman stood on his doorstep. "I need to speak to your guest. He's expecting me sometime today or tomorrow."

Liàng was no fool. "I don't have a guest."

"He gave me this four years ago when we first made contact." She pulled a necklace out from under her cloak. The pendant was made of two circular objects, roughly equal in size, glued back-to-back. One was a _pai sho _tile, the White Lotus. The other was the stone from a signet ring of some kind.

Liàng looked at the tile, then at the woman. After a moment, he stepped aside.

She slid the necklace back under her clothes, and slipped past him.

After checking to be sure his late-night visitor was unnoticed, Liàng closed the door and drummed his heel into the floor twice before escorting the woman to his kitchen.

"I'll wait here for him, if you don't mind," she said softly.

"Not at all," he replied, and walked to the hall before entering his forge and slipping into the hidden room. "General?"

"She's here?"

"Yes, sir."

The old man stood up. "Then I should go speak with her."

"She's in the kitchen."

"Good. Lead the way?"

"As you wish." Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Liàng led the older man to his visitor.

She stood up respectfully when the General joined the kitchen.

"It's safe," he assured her, and she took down her hood, revealing a very pretty brunette in her late teens.

Only the strictest self-control kept Liàng's jaw from dropping. "_You_?"

She nodded, once, then turned to the General. "I don't have much time before the others realize I'm gone."

"What can you tell me?"

The smith turned to leave, uncertain if he was authorized for this message.

She didn't call him back, but nor did she wait 'til he was fully gone before he left. "She's making a final push at the North at midsummer. She's starting to shift troops..."

Interesting. Maybe he should send Mi-Cha away for the summer. It was well-known he'd once worked iron; he might be pressed into service.

The General asked further clarifying questions, taking nearly a half hour to milk his agent for all the details she knew.

In that time, the smith had assessed his funds and decided on a course of action should such circumstances become necessary. For all he knew, he would be asked to volunteer…

"I should go," the young woman said abruptly. "Contact me if you need more."

The General nodded. "Be careful."

Liàng was seated in the hall, looking thoughtful, when the agent emerged.

She pulled her hood back up. "Don't tell," she murmured.

"Never," he replied, standing up and opening the door for her.

"Thank you." She smiled at him, stood on tiptoe, and kissed his cheek. "Good luck."

The brawny smith blushed. "Thank you."

The young woman slipped out into the streets and back to the palace and her supposed mistress.

Liàng returned to the kitchen, hoping the color in his cheeks was gone.

"Are you going to stay here in the city?" Mushi asked, not commenting on the still-evident blush.

"Only if I'm not needed elsewhere," Liàng replied. "My home and my duties are here." He paused, then added, "I'm considering sending Mi-Cha away, however."

"That might be wise."

Liàng sighed. "She won't like it."

He laughed a little. "Would you like me to talk to her?"

"It might not come to that," he pointed out. "I just don't want to deprive her of another parental figure."

He nodded. "I understand completely."

Liàng yawned. "It's all starting to come together."

"Oh?"

"The attack," he clarified. "We can try to get the word out to the Water Tribe, but one way or another, things will come to a head this summer."

The old man nodded. "These rumors of the Red Spirit also point to it. It seems more and more likely that he's making his way here."

"And now the Firelady has lost her pet scientist."

"Indeed. Which will hopefully be good for us."

Liàng nodded. "There's rumors that the Avatar has reappeared as well, though you know how _those_ are."

"He'll reappear sooner or later," the General said quietly.

"But will it be in time?"

"It may. But we probably can't depend on Aang this time."

"No. We have to rely on ourselves."

The old man sighed. "Indeed."

The smith glanced at him. "Something wrong?"

"I'm just...concerned that things are happening too quickly. That I am pushing you and my agent and all the others who know of me too far, too fast."

"I can hold up my end," Liàng said immediately.

"For now, I'm sure you can."

"Do we have other choices, General?"

"No. We don't."

Liàng nodded, and rested his chin on his folded hands. "We'll need to get in contact with the Red Spirit at some point."

"Yes. We will."

"Do you think the merchant's brat could…?"

"He was captured. My agent freed him, but she doesn't know where he is now. She seemed rather...disappointed about that, actually." The General smiled a secret little smile.

"Captured? How?"

The old man explained how the tree house city had been compromised, and Liàng swore. "That's not good."

"No, it isn't," he replied. "But there isn't much we can do about it now."

"So what do we do?"

"Get word out not to use it anymore."

"I'll do what I can from here," promised Liàng.

"If you hear from the Red Spirit, please let him know I would like to talk to him," the old man replied.

"As Mushi, or as the General?"

He hesitated. "If you are in a safe place to talk, as the General."

The tall smith bowed. "As you wish."

The older man bowed back. "I should get out of the city, now that I've made contact with my agent."

"Right. Good luck."

"And you." He rose, bowed again, and went back to the secret room to collect his things and slip out of the city.


	20. Yù Lài 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 20: ****Yù Lài**

Yù Lài sat in a tea shop in Ba Sing Se, staring into her cup without really seeing what was in it. Her mind was still on what the Moon Spirit had told her a week before. Lose her access to the spirit world? Yù Lài couldn't imagine such a thing.

A lean, fortyish man in a Dai Li uniform approached her. "You need to come with me."

Yù Lài leaned back in her chair, green eyes sweeping over him while she considered the options. After a moment, she shrugged and stood. "Very well," she agreed, deciding that scenes were much better caused in private, when there was less of a chance of innocent bystanders getting in her way.

The agent led her out of the tea shop, through the Upper Ring, and into the palace.

This concerned the young acrobat, who made note of the route they took and possible escape routes just in case.

He led her deep into the palace, through several lines of green- and red-uniformed soldiers, and knocked on a small, fairly inconspicuous door.

A pale, slender, black-haired young woman opened it, and stood aside, silently. The agent shoved Yù Lài into the room, and the other young woman shut the door behind her.

Green eyes narrowed as the acrobat looked around. No windows, one door, very little furniture… this room was a trap. Taking a deep breath, Yù Lài turned her gaze to the seated woman, who was some years younger. It would take an idiot to not recognize the Firelady, Azula. Carefully, Yù Lài bowed to her.

"I've heard a great deal about you, Yù Lài," the ruler said evenly. "I brought you here to offer you a deal."

"I'm listening, my lady," replied the older woman. Polite, polite, stay polite.

"I want you to stay on the sidelines for the rest of the war."

Yù Lài blinked. "I… I'm sorry?" She couldn't have heard _that_ correctly.

"I want you to stay out of things. Completely. I don't want you as an enemy, but, frankly, I don't trust you as an ally." Azula shrugged. "So I want you to uninvolve yourself."

"I can't afford to do that, my lady," she said carefully. A lie, of course, but Yù Lài had chosen this name for a number of reasons.

"Ty Lee. Show Yù Lài what we're prepared to offer her."

Another young woman handed the spy a bag. "Here you go."

Yù Lài didn't do anything so crass as actually _open_ the bag, though she held it in her hand in such a way that she could estimate the funds inside.

The bag was very heavy, which spoke to exactly how much Azula wanted Yu Lai out of the way.

The older woman bowed again. "As my lady wishes."

"Good. Mai. Please escort Yù Lài out."

The first woman bowed her head, and opened the door again.

Silently, the acrobat left the room, barely keeping her tension from leaking out through her body language. There had to be an attack of some sort coming…

None came. Mai led the spy out of the palace, and, when they reached the last set of doors, murmured, "Don't forget the agreement," and then left her there.

Yù Lài hid the bag in her robes and thought carefully. She would have to be on her guard now — and it would probably be best if she left Ba Sing Se and went somewhere remote. Perhaps she could do as the Avatar had done and hide in the spirit world for a time…

Watching for ambush and tails, Yù Lài made her way into the city.


	21. Haru 4

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 21: ****Haru**

The General left Ba Sing Se within an hour after his meeting with his spy. When he passed secure Resistance strongholds, he put out cautious feelers towards the Red Spirit, figuring that the need to determine the masked stranger's intentions far outweighed his own personal need for secrecy.

Toph and the Duke had gone out to scout around to see if the Avatar was near again, while Haru was still stuck inside, recovering from his ordeal. Bian had finally permitted him to walk again, though he had been told that major bending was a no-go until he was fully recovered. He therefore spent his time working on what his father had affectionately dubbed "rock tricks" five years before.

Late one night, after Bian had gone to bed, someone knocked softly on her door.

Haru dragged himself off the couch — he would never admit how sore getting up made him still, lest he be put back on bed rest — and moved to answer it.

Haru had had enough contact with the General to recognize the older man, even heavily cloaked.

The young man's eyes widened, and a pained expression crossed his face as he moved aside to allow General Iroh entry.

He smiled slightly at the young earthbender. "It's good to see you again, Haru. Is Bian here?" He had never met the woman personally, but she was said to be an exceptional herbalist, and Toph, who had met her shortly after Azula took her throne, had vouched for her. If the Red Spirit ever sought to make contact with the rebels, Bian might be one of his best options.

"Yes, she's sleeping. Would you like me to wake her?"

He shook his head. "No, I can't stay long. I just need to leave a message."

"Oh."

"Tell her that I need to speak to the Red Spirit, and if he makes contact here, to let him know."

Haru's eyes went wide, and he looked at the General for the first time. "The Red Spirit?"

"Yes." The older man didn't elaborate on what they needed to discuss.

"I… I've met him," Haru said hesitantly. "Before…"

"Oh? And what did you two discuss?" The General turned his very piercing golden gaze on the bandit.

"He plans to kill the Firelady."

The old man's eyes widened. "What do you think his chances are? Honestly."

"Pretty damn good," Haru admitted. "Because of who he is."

The General held up a hand to silence him. "Better if you don't say anything. In case someone is listening who shouldn't be."

Haru hesitated. The General _needed_ to know who he was… and Haru had to make up to him _somehow_… "I really think you ought to know," he said quietly. There was a slight emphasis on the word 'you'.

"When I speak to him, I'll find out," he said, firmly. _Because I would like to persist in my delusion that he is the same as the Blue Spirit for as long as possible, even though I know that can't be true_.

Haru's shoulders slumped. "As you wish," he said quietly, dropping his gaze again.

He nodded, then frowned at the younger man. "You disagree with my decision."

"But I accept it," the bandit replied, still not looking at him.

"...What's wrong?"

Haru turned partly away from Iroh, trying to hide his shame. "I… I'm sorry," he whispered.

The older man nodded. "It's all right, Haru."

"But it's my fault she found out that you're…"

"There were always rumors. All you did was confirm them. And there is no shame in breaking under what you were put through."

"I should have held out," Haru said stubbornly. "I'm an earthbender. I'm supposed to be _strong_, like my—" his voice broke, and he quickly swept a hand over his eyes. He was _not_ about to cry.

Iroh laid a hand on his shoulder, and said nothing.

It took the young bandit a moment to get himself under control. Once he finally had, he reached up to the back of his head, where his topknot had once been. When he'd agreed to take this job for the Resistance, he'd sworn privately to himself not to wear it again until he was again worthy of being his father's son. Sometimes, he needed a reminder.

"I should get going," Iroh said after a long moment of silence. "If you see the Red Spirit again, let him know I'm looking for him, will you, please?"

"Yes, General," Haru replied.

"Thank you." He stood up and pulled his cloak back on--and was promptly hugged very tightly by a blind seventeen-year-old girl.

Haru smiled slightly. "Hello, Toph," he said, sitting down carefully.

"Hi," she said, letting go. The Duke followed close behind.

"What's going on?" Bian said, coming out. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Iroh, and the two of them stared at one another for a very long moment, the air between them thick with tension. After that moment, Bian started crying silently. "I'm sorry..." she managed to get out.

"…uh?" said Haru, eloquently. He got up (hiding a wince as he pulled at still-healing muscles) to stand by the older woman.

The General crossed the room and took her hands. "I would have done the same," he said, firmly.

Confused, Haru glanced at the Duke, then took a closer look at Bian.

…oh.

The Duke, for his part, boggled at the two adults. "...I'm confused," he whispered.

"Shut up," Toph said.

Haru walked to the Duke and pushed his helmet forward on his head slightly. "Come on. Let's give them some privacy," he told him, glancing at the General and the apothecary.

"But--"

The woman was shaking her head. "It didn't do any good, anyway," she said, bitterly.

"You bought him almost seven years," Iroh reminded her. "That's more than I was able to do."

"Now," Haru said, dragging the teenager out of the room and trusting Toph to join them when she was ready.

She followed close behind. "Wow. What a...mess."

"Very much so," agreed the older bender. "No luck finding him?"

She shook her head. "There are rumors. But there are always rumors. Apparently, he's in Omashu. Or maybe he's back in the Fire Nation. Or hiding out at the Southern Air Temple."

Haru sighed. "Of course. And I need to find the Red Spirit again."

The Duke frowned. "Why? I thought we were planning to catch up with him in Ba Sing Se."

"The General needs to talk to him," Haru replied. "And I can't exactly go into cities anymore."

Toph nodded. "Then we change our plans. But the Red Spirit is headed for the city, so we should probably head in that direction anyway."

"That makes sense." Haru sighed. "And the general plans to keep moving, so I have no idea how to _get_ the Red Spirit _to_ Iroh. They _really_ need to meet."

"How come?" Toph asked. "I mean, besides the fact that he's planning to assassinate Her Bitchiness."

Haru shifted uncomfortably. "I… I can't say," he said. "But the Red Spirit's identity needs to remain secret for now."

"...You know who he is," Toph said.

"Not for certain," he said honestly. "But I don't think I'm wrong."

"Who do you think he is?" the Duke asked.

"I can't say," he repeated. "The General asked me not to."

Toph was frowning at the ground, considering what Haru had told her. "...oh. _Oh_."

"Exactly," the older man said.

"...What?" the Duke said.

"Haru and Iroh are right," Toph said. "It's better if we don't say this out loud."

"I'll tell you when it's safe to," Haru promised the Duke. "But right now, we should figure out our plan of action and then get some sleep. I can't stay here much longer." He didn't add that he was going stir-crazy.

Toph nodded. "So, he's heading for Ba Sing Se, from the Eastern Air Temple. What would be a good place to intercept him?"

"Well, the Duke and I met him just outside of Shen-Yu…" Together, the three young people worked out a route they could take, even accounting for Haru's still-healing body.

"I'm going to say goodbye to Iroh, then sleep. Do we leave tomorrow?" Toph said.

"Yes," Haru replied. "At dawn." He glanced outside at the setting moon. "Or after we wake up, anyway."

Toph nodded, and left to say goodbye to her old friend.

"Let's get some sleep, the Duke," Haru told him, yawning.

"Good idea," the thirteen-year-old said, stretching.

As Bian and Iroh were in the room where Haru normally slept, the young man stretched out on the floor and was asleep very quickly.


	22. Haru 5

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 22: ****Haru**

He was the first to wake in the morning, though from his position on the floor being uncomfortable or just because he was a "morning person" was anyone's guess. Yawning, Haru moved out into the front room to gather his clothing and make sure everything was comfortably packed.

Bian was still sitting in the main room. She hadn't gone back to bed after Iroh had left the night before. "You three are leaving?" she asked, abruptly.

"Yes," he said, coming to stand by her. "We can't endanger you any longer, and I'm well enough to travel." He looked her over, lingering the longest on her golden eyes.

"...What is it?" she asked, frowning.

Haru made his decision and came closer. "There's something you should know," he said, lowering his voice. "About the Red Spirit." Leaning in, he whispered into her ear, "He's your son."

She stared at him for a long moment. "Don't lie to me," she hissed.

"I wouldn't lie to you about this," he said quietly. "Not about this."

"I lost my son," she hissed, "twelve years ago. But that was my choice, and I know I did the right thing. Five years ago, I lost him _again_, probably to his own hands. If you have any _scrap_ of courtesy or decency, you will not make me lose him again. My son is _dead_. Let him rest in peace."

Haru sighed and fell silent. "I just thought someone else should know," he said before moving back to his things.

She glared at the table, near to tears. "Try to understand. I lost both of my children to madness. Leave me alone."

"Yes, ma'am," was the quiet reply.

"I'll see about getting you some supplies," she said, quietly, and walked out of the room.

Nodding, he went to wake Toph and the Duke.

"Time to go?" Toph said, waking instantly.

"Yeah." Haru didn't say any more.

"...What's wrong?" she asked, gathering her things together.

"Nothing," he muttered, knowing she'd know he was lying and not really caring.

"...You told Bian about the Red Spirit?"

"I said nothing's wrong!" he snapped, and immediately regretted it. "…I'm sorry. Let's just get our stuff together."

She nodded. "Good idea. Want me to wake the Duke?"

"I'll do it," Haru said. "Bian… said she'd get us some supplies."

"Ok." Toph stood up and went to get her things together.

Haru moved on to wake the Duke, trying to hide his bad mood.

The Duke drifted awake. "It's time to go already?"

"Yes. Get your things."

"'Kay."

With nothing left to hold him back, Haru moved back to the main room of Bian's small house and repacked his bag.

Bian had gathered some food for them, and had made it into two compact packages. "These should last you a couple weeks," she said, evenly, and a little coolly.

"Thank you," Haru answered, his tone as even as the apothecary's.

"Is there anything else you think you'll need?"

"No thank you. I think we can manage."

The apothecary nodded. "You know where to find me if that changes."

Haru bowed, then located the binding he used to keep his shoulder-length hair out of his face and wrapped it around his head, waiting for his companions.

Toph was the first out, followed closely by the Duke.

"Let's go," the young woman said quietly.

"Yes," Haru replied. "Let's."

The Duke shouldered his pack. "Lead the way."

Bowing once more to Bian, Haru took up the lead and began the long journey before them.


	23. Shang

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 23: ****Shang**

"I don't get why you're so talkative all the sudden," Sokka commented to Shang a few days after the other man's capture.

"A man isn't allowed to let other variables influence his decisions?" the soldier asked mildly, ignoring the ropes on his wrists. So long as he didn't move them too much, they didn't chafe.

"Well, what variables?"

Grey eyes flicked to one side and then back, too fast for Sokka to see where they stopped. "I'm afraid I can't say that just yet."

He sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Shang shrugged. "All will out, in time."

"Can't you just give me a hint?"

"One in your party had an… enlightening conversation with me," Shang admitted. "But I'm not telling you who."

Behind his mask, the Red Spirit smiled slightly.

"Sokka, leave be," said Teo wearily. "We've all heard you two have this same conversation at least four times every day for the past three."

"Fine," he sighed.

Leilani trudged in silence at the rear of the group. She was having a much easier time of it, keeping up with the others, though she wasn't sure if that's because the size of their party had forced them to slow down, or if it was because she was getting stronger. She was still avoiding the Avatar whenever possible, however.

Aang was respecting her desire for privacy, and only speaking to her when it was absolutely necessary.

Teo's hastily constructed wheelchair was holding up under the pressure of travel quite well, and he was pleased. Whenever they stopped to rest, he tried to work with the chair to perform some of his old tricks, especially kicking back onto the rear wheels.

The Red Spirit, as they got closer and closer to Ba Sing Se, was growing more and more morose and withdrawn.

Leilani noticed, and contrived to remain close to him at all times; whether this was for his comfort or hers was anybody's guess.

Katara had also noticed, and was unsure what to do about it--or about the Red Spirit in general.

Finally, one evening, she sat next to him, watching Shang and Sokka argue over something probably inconsequential. "You seem depressed," she said, quietly, after a moment.

Startled, he didn't say anything at first, then pulled out his pad and wrote, "I'm fine."

She snorted. "Of course you are. It's just…if you ever need someone to talk to…"

_How could I talk to _you?_ If you knew who I was, you'd probably take my head off. Literally_. "There are no words," he wrote, simply.

"Of course not," she sighed, then stood to head over to her brother and the prisoner before things got ugly. She paused, and turned back to him. "…Hey, Líng Hún?"

He glanced up at her.

"This…thing you're doing. About Azula. I just want you to know…I think you're really brave for doing it. A bit stupid and reckless, sure. But…anyway, thanks."

He stared at her, his mask making it impossible to see what he was thinking, so she smiled, a little uncertainly, and went off to break up the argument.

Late that night, as he had promised, Líng Hún gave Shang a sealed packet of papers. "Don't open it until after it's over."

"I won't," the soldier replied quietly, tucking them away where they would be safe.

The next day, they came in sight of the outer walls of the city.

They pitched camp that night, and Leilani went to fetch water. With Katara's help, Leilani's bending for things other than healing was improving, and the older woman took every opportunity to practice, though it was clear her main talent lay in healing.

Also fetching water, from the same stream, was a younger woman. She was aware of the waterbender's presence, but made no move to approach her just yet.

Leilani's situational awareness, while improving, wasn't anywhere near to what her companions had, even Teo, and so she wasn't aware of the other woman at all.

The younger woman considered, and decided to follow the islander, and see who she was with and where she was coming from.

Oblivious, Leilani finished bending and carried the water back to the camp.

When she got there, it was very apparent that she had been followed when the younger woman attacked Sokka from behind, hugging him tightly.

"Toph!" he cried, picking her up and spinning her around.

Startled, Leilani turned around, her jaw dropping as she realized that she'd been followed to the Red Spirit yet again. "Toph!?" Teo asked, wheeling over to Sokka. He'd not had much contact with the blind woman, but he'd liked her when he first met her five years before.

"Hang on, I'll be right back, I have to get the others. We've been looking for you." The young earthbender disengaged herself from Sokka's embrace, blushing slightly, and ran off to get her companions.

"We?" Aang asked, but Toph was already well on her way.

"…who was that?" Leilani asked.

"That was Toph," Katara explained. "She's an old friend of ours. An earthbender."

"…ah." The island woman sighed and took a seat by the Red Spirit.

Toph, meanwhile, ran back to Teo and the Duke. "I found them. They're not far from here."

"Good," said Haru, getting to his feet. "Lead the way."

The Duke also leapt to his feet, and the two young men followed Toph to where the others were camped.

When Haru spotted Katara, he promptly forgot his mission and bolted past the Red Spirit to hug her tightly. "Katara!"

She hugged him back, tightly. "It's good to see you again, Haru. How have you been?"

"I've been better. You?"

The Red Spirit, in the background, stared at the ground, pretending he wasn't jealous._  
_

"I've been doing pretty well."

"So I see." He grinned at her after letting her go. "I'm glad we found you."

"Me, too. It's so good to see all of you again." She ruffled the Duke's hair. "You've gotten taller."

The thirteen-year-old rolled his eyes and readjusted his helmet.

Haru flashed a grin at her, then turned to the Red Spirit, his face settling into a more serious expression. "I have a message for you."

The younger man studied him for a moment, then nodded, pulled out his notebook, and wrote, "What is it?"

"The Dragon of the West would like to speak with you, and is looking for you."

The Red Spirit froze. Hands shaking slightly, he wrote, "He's alive?"

"Yes." Haru hesitated. "It's the Red Spirit that he seeks."

"He's alive. He wasn't killed when Azula took over?"

Haru shook his head. "He escaped from prison on the Day of Black Sun. Azula covered it up, of course. I don't think even her little pets ever found out about it."

One of those pets flushed and hid behind Katara.

_He's alive_... Careful not to speak, he wrote down, "I see. Did he say what he wanted?"

"Just that he wanted to talk with the Red Spirit."

_He doesn't know._ "I see."

Haru leaned close and lowered his voice. "You should tell him who you are."

He shook his head, and breathed, "Can't."

"Why?"

"I've disappointed him enough." He pulled away, and resumed writing his messages. "Where did you last see him?"

"At the home of an apothecary named Bian."

"How long ago was that?"

"A few days ago, but he left the same evening."

"I see. Thank you for telling me." The Red Spirit put his notebook back into his pack and walked away.

Bemused, Shang watched the greetings and the mingling and Leilani slowly taking herself away from the rest of the group. These young adults seemed to be closer than even his squad mates had been, despite long absences from each other.

The Red Spirit sat next to him, and said nothing, wrote nothing, just watched the others.

"I feel awkward and uncomfortable," Shang said quietly after a few minutes. "This may have something to do with my hands, of course." He didn't expect a reply.

The younger man simply shrugged, and stared at the ground. He would have offered to unbind the soldier's hands, except that would have led to awkward questions from all sides. For both of them.

It wasn't long before Leilani joined them, sitting silently on the Red Spirit's other side.

Very, very faintly, so that even they could hardly hear him, the Red Spirit whispered, "He's alive."

Surprised, the pair turned to him. "L-Líng Hún?" Leilani asked softly.

"He's alive," he repeated.

"Who is?"

A long silence, as he decided how to word it. If he said it out loud, that would mean directly admitting something he'd been avoiding since coming back. "General Iroh," he finally whispered.

"…he is?" said Shang, surprised. "Wow. I'd heard…"

The Red Spirit shrugged, and didn't say anything.

Leilani put her hand on top of his, letting her body language speak for her.

"Hey, Líng Hún?" Sokka called. "We should start making plans for how we're going to get into the palace so you can...well, you know."

He nodded, grateful for not having to think about it anymore, and rose to join the others.

The waterbender stayed by Shang. If anyone asked, she would say that she was guarding him.


	24. Liàng 3

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 24: ****Liàng**

Mi-Cha and Liàng had stayed up very late, working on a commission. While Liàng worked on the earring backs, Mi-Cha was very carefully shaping the stones themselves, matching emeralds that the client had mined himself for his wife.

Then came an insistent rapping on their door.

Nobody was due in.

Golden eyes narrowing, Liàng gestured for Mi-Cha to head for the back door while he went to answer the front.

A dozen soldiers waited for him there, accompanied by Lady Mai and Lady Ty Lee.

"You'll need to come with us," one of the soldiers said, curtly.

"I'm working," the smith said mildly, settling himself and listening for Mi-Cha to go out the back. "Can it wait?"

"No. It can't."

"Such a pity." With that, Liàng slammed the door shut and barred it in one smooth motion, retreating back behind the table and waiting for it to be broken. He had to buy Mi-Cha enough time to get away!

One of the soldiers promptly kicked the door down.

The smith was waiting. Grabbing the table, he picked it up and launched it at the door.

One of the soldiers, one in a red uniform, set the table on fire, and the others kept coming.

Liàng settled himself, then fought back brutally, using his fists and feet to get the message across that he wasn't going to go quietly.

As he was brought to his knees, the smith hoped he'd given Mi-Cha enough time to escape.

One of the attackers, however, had snuck around behind to try and capture her.

The teenager, having gone through this once before, was more than ready for this — she'd stuck to the shadows and was moving as silently and quickly as her bare feet would permit.

This man was one of the agents of the Dai Li--it would take more than an inexperienced child to escape him.

Mi-Cha tried, and when she was caught, screamed and fought and made as loud a ruckus as she could.

Unnoticed by any save her best friend, the double agent swore under her breath and slipped away from the attempt to capture Liang, and broke the agent's neck. "Go, run, quickly."

Frightened, the young girl obeyed immediately, fleeing even faster than she had before, looking for safety and knowing she would find none inside Ba Sing Se.

"What are you doing, Ty Lee?" the agent's friend said, coming around the corner.

"…Oh, _shit_."

* * *

The remaining soldiers, meanwhile, had subdued the smith.

Liàng was hurt, but stubbornly maintained consciousness, hissing at one of the Dai Li that they were an insult to their country.

They ignored him, and dragged him, along with the traitor noblewoman, to a dungeon.

Despite his injuries, he did his best to hinder their process; this was mostly accomplished by becoming sheer dead weight.

The traitor, on the other hand, didn't resist her captor, though this may have been more due to the fact that she was rather bloodied and unconscious at the time.

As soon as his prison door closed, Liàng drew himself painfully to his feet and began examining the room, checking the make of the cell for weak points.

The double agent, now his cellmate, drifted awake.

"Why did you do that?" he asked her as he ran his hands over a wall.

"Don't know, really," she said, managing a smile despite everything. "But everything's going to hell anyway, and I don't think I could've kept my cover much longer without hating myself."

"I don't think anyone could have done what you did," he told her, rapping his knuckles on the door and listening to the sound the metal made.

"What, turned traitor, or gotten rid of that Dai Li guy trying to arrest your apprentice?" she asked, curious, pulling herself up with great effort to do what she could to help.

"Maintained so dangerous a ruse for so long," he replied. "I think I would've eventually cracked."

She shrugged, and winced. "Ow. Um, well it's just like any other tightrope, really."

"Sit down," he said kindly. "How long do you think we have?"

"We-ell, I think Azula will probably kill me as soon as Mai tells her what I've been doing. You, I can't say." The noble-turned-acrobat-turned-spy sat back down.

"So we need to get you out of here."

"No way to do it, unless you're a closet metalbender like that blind girl."

Liàng grinned broadly. "Is that so?"

"Yep."

"Does Her Ladyship keep firebenders in here?"

She tilted her head and stared at him. "Um, not that I can think of?"

"Then I don't need to be a metalbender." With that, Liàng settled back into semi-combative stance, took a deep breath, and conjured a bright ball of fire into his hand; with this, he began melting through the prison.

"...This works, too." She picked herself up, and managed to twist herself and perch somewhere she could keep an eye out the tiny window in the door and avoid the fire at the same time.

It was hot work and slow going, but Liàng was a smith and used to such things. When he felt the hinges were weak enough (deliberately having focused his attention there), he put out the fire and settled into a new stance. "Get ready," he told Ty Lee.

"Ready when you are," she said, bracing herself. "How far d'you think you can run?"

"As far as I need to," was the enigmatic reply. She didn't need to know that he was electing to cover for her escape. With no further warning, he lashed out one strong foot at the door, snapping the melted hinges and throwing the door open. "Go!"

She sprang to her feet and _fled_. She knew she'd pay for it later, but when guards tried to stop her, she incapacitated them as quickly as possible, trusting to adrenaline to keep her going at least to the end of the hallway.

Well, she hoped it lasted that long, anyways.

Liàng followed just behind her, doing everything he could to keep the noble from recapture.

"Come on, if we hurry, we can make it," she said, sparing the energy to smile at him. "Wait!" She suddenly stopped. "Out that window. I can boost you, then climb out myself. There, see?" She pointed.

"I don't think you could lift me," he pointed out. "I can pull myself over. I don't have these muscles to impress the girls."

"Ok, if you're sure. But we better hurry, 'cause there's Dai Li coming, and I'm not sure I can stop them all."

"Get on my shoulders and pull yourself up," he said immediately. "I'll be right behind you."

"Ok." She did as told, then stretched down a hand to help him up.

Liàng took the proffered hand and tried not to put too much weight on the much smaller woman as they both pulled him to the top.

"Come on, we need to run for real now," she said, and led him along the street.

He followed quickly, keeping an eye out for pursuit and hoping that Mi-Cha was all right.

They managed to get away from the prison guards, and weren't challenged again until they reached the wall.

"Who's there?" a young man guarding one of the gates said.

"It's me," Ty Lee gambled.

"M-milady, right, of course. ...Who's he?"

"My sex toy, of course." She smiled up at the guard and patted Liang's rear.

Liàng kept his face passive; Ty Lee had a reputation in Ba Sing Se, though he didn't know if she'd earned it or not. But it was best to play into that reputation.

"Y-your..." The guard's eyes widened and he blushed furiously.

Her grin widened. "And, well, Her Ladyship has been _lecturing_ me and _lecturing_ me about bringing my toys into the palace and staining all the sheets, and--"

"I'm opening the gate, milady!" the guard said, hastily.

"Thanks ever so much!" She blew him a kiss and led Liang through the wall, trying not to lean on him too obviously or heavily, given that he was injured, too, and that revealing how dizzy she was would probably spoil the whole game.

"Too much information can be a wonderful thing," he said quietly. As soon as they were out of sight, he leaned back against the wall for a moment.

"W-we can't stay here, Zuli and Mai will get word to the walls any time now," she said, letting go of him. "Sorry 'bout that, if it made you way too uncomfortable."

"It's fine," he said, gathering his strength and standing straight once more. "And you're right, we have to keep moving."

She nodded. "Let's go." She pushed herself away from the wall and kept moving.

Liàng remained close on her heels, looking back at Ba Sing Se every now and again. _Mi-Cha… I'm sorry…_

* * *

After they'd been running for nearly an hour, Ty Lee tripped and fell. "Ow..."

"Are you all right?" the smith asked, helping her up.

"I skinned my knee..." she said, staring down at it, not realizing that the blood on it was more likely coming from elsewhere.

Liàng picked her up without a word. "There's got to be a safe place somewh… or not," he decided, remembering. "If I got found out, odds are my whole network's down."

"And I only know you and my handler and people who've already been exposed, so...I'm not much use."

"I just wish I knew how they found me," Liàng murmured.

"I didn't tell," she murmured back.

He grinned at her. "Never crossed my mind. Not after you saved Mi-Cha."

She grinned back. "Good. Just makin' sure."

He shifted her in his arms and continued walking. "At the very least we should be able to find someplace they'd not think to look for us."

"Here, put me down, you're gonna fall over. Let's look for a cave or something."

"I'm fine," Liàng said automatically, even though he knew he wasn't. He had to get Ty Lee far enough away from Ba Sing Se that she'd be safe, even if he died.

The acrobat twisted out of his arms, and steadied herself against a tree. "Come on, there's a cave not far that Azula and Mai don't know about."

"…all right," he said. "Lead the way. And then we can see about getting ourselves bandaged up."

"Oops, I should've thought to bring bandages. Um. Anyway, this way." She led him to a small cave. "Here we go." She stumbled a bit. "Oops. Maybe I'll be steadier if I walk on my hands..."

He chuckled. "I don't think that's what they mean when they tell you to keep your legs elevated over your head…"

She giggled and put herself into a handstand. "See? I can do it!" She wobbled a bit, and dropped. "But I don't wanna break my arm, so I'll jus' sit down now."

"Good idea," Liàng replied dryly, sitting down himself. He pulled off his shirt and began to tear it into strips.

"Here, I'll do mine, too." She pulled it off and started tearing it up.

The smith flushed red. "Uh…"

"What?" she said, swaying a little, and looking up at him.

"N-nothing," he said quickly, focusing on the makeshift bandages. "Where are you hurt?"

"Um...not sure. I know she stabbed me in the side, but she might've got me somewhere else. Plus, the guards might've managed to bruise me while we were running...I dunno. What about you?"

"Mostly bruises. Maybe some broken ribs."

"Ok. That's good." She finished tearing her shirt up. "Think we got enough, now?"

"Yes. Turn around."

She tilted her head and looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"To get those seen to," he said gruffly.

"...But the stab wound's on the front."

"…I knew that." Making a pad of some of the shorter strips, he told her to fold it over and hold it against the wound; while she did that, he carefully began binding the pad in place.

"Ok, when you're done, I'll do you," she said, keeping pressure on the wound.

"Right." He finished bandaging her and quickly checked her over for other injuries.

There were a few shallow cuts on various parts of her body, and several bruises, but nothing else serious that he could see.

Gently, Liàng tended to the other cuts, then let her treat him.

"There. That should hold you together," she said, smiling up at him.

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Though I should probably tell you once I lie down that I probably won't be up for a long time."

"Me, too," she said, laughing a little. "Um, so, hopefully guards won't find us while we're sleeping."

"Indeed. Maybe we should retreat further in."

"Prolly a good idea." She pushed herself up and led the way in deeper.

It took Liàng nearly a full minute to take his feet again, but once he was up he caught up to her quickly, bringing a small flame to light their path the further in they got.

"Ok, falling over now," Ty Lee said about two minutes later, then collapsed.

Liàng went down beside her, and his flame died. "How the mighty have fallen."

She giggled. "Can I sleep now?"

"Yeah, sure."

She didn't answer, having already passed out.

Liàng was right behind her.


	25. MiCha

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 25: ****Mi-Cha**

Mi-Cha managed to escape Ba Sing Se by stowing away on a merchant transport out of the city. Terrified of pursuit, she used a small ruby to barter supplies and a change of clothes from one of the merchants, accepting less than the gem could have gotten her in her fear and need to escape. The transport let her out in a small town, not far from the city.

Frightened, not liking the way one of the merchants was eyeing her (she knew the woman had seen the bag she'd drawn the ruby from), Mi-Cha swiftly put as much distance between herself and the transport as possible, and ran headlong into the old man who'd stayed with her and Liang not long before. Startled, she glanced up at him; she saw only his eyes, not his face, and immediately tried to flee.

"Mi-Cha? What are you doing here?"

The voice brought her to a halt again. "Liàng got caught!" she blurted.

"Caught? When?"

"Last night." The teenager was trying her hardest not to cry. "The Dai Li and the Angels came to his door…"

"We need to find someplace more private to talk. Please, come with me." He led her to the room he'd been staying in.

Numb and afraid, Mi-Cha followed him.

"All right," he said, pouring her a cup of tea. "Now, could you please explain what happened?"

Haltingly, Mi-Cha did so, telling him everything she could — including Ty Lee's rescuing of her.

_This is...very bad. We have lost Liang, _and _our source in the palace_. "All right. All right, we'll find him."

"Wh-what do I do?" she asked him plaintively.

"First, you stay calm. That's the most important thing. Then, we try and find a way to figure out if they're in prison or if they managed to escape on their own. Because Ty Lee will have been arrested, as well." _Which means she's probably dead_.

Mi-Cha nodded, immediately switching her attention to a breathing technique Liàng had taught her.

Iroh, on the other hand, devoted himself to planning a way to determine whether or not Ty Lee and Liang were alive and free.


	26. Haru 6

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 26: ****Haru**

"Hey, there's a cave back there," said Haru. At Toph's insistence, he'd agreed to practice his bending some more her way and thus had a blindfold on. Using bending to 'see' was nowhere near as easy as Toph made it seem.

"Let's check it out. There might be food in there," Sokka replied. "Which way?"

Haru hesitated, then, "Left," he said clearly, turning to go that way. He promptly walked into a tree.

Sokka laughed. "You ok, Haru?"

Frustrated, the earthbender stripped off the blindfold. "Perfectly fine," he said, cheeks burning.

"All right, let's find this cave of yours."

Carefully, Haru led Sokka to the cave, grinning when he realized he'd correctly identified it. "All right!"

"Awesome! Let's see if there's food in there."

As the two young men explored, Haru's hand lashed out and caught Sokka by the back of the shirt. "There's people in here…"

"How many?" he said, voice lowered.

"I don't… two, I think," Haru said, closing his eyes. "I… it feels like they're sleeping…"

"Well, let's go in and check them out."

"Right." Haru led the way, keeping quiet.

Sokka followed, just as quietly.

Before long, the two young men stumbled on the sleeping forms of Liàng and Ty Lee.

"HOLY SHIT TY LEE!" Sokka said, forgetting to be quiet.

At the sound of his voice, the smith came instantly awake, starting to shoot to his feet but losing steam halfway through and settling heavily to one knee. He glared up at the two boys with golden eyes. "Who are you?!"

"Who are _you_, and what are you doing with _her_?" Sokka snapped back.

"Liàng?" Haru was frowning. "What the hell are you doing outside of Ba Sing Se?"

"…If it isn't the merchant brat."

Ty Lee was still out.

"You know him?" Sokka said, confused, turning to Haru.

"We met before I got into banditry," Haru confirmed. "Now answer the question, smith bastard."

"I got caught," Liàng said simply. "Dai Li and the Angels came for me."

"Then why are you _with_ one of them?" Sokka said, keeping his sword pointed at Liang.

"Because she's the General's inside Agent," Liàng snapped at him. "Put that away; I've had my fill of threats tonight."

"No _way_ she is," Sokka scoffed.

"...wha's happenin'...?" Ty Lee drifted back to consciousness.

"Put the damn sword away!" Liàng said to Sokka.

"...oh. Oh, ok. Um, I'm the General's agent. Or, I was, 'til I rescued his 'prentice and Mai tried to kill me. Um, I should show you this." One hand drifted up and pulled out the necklace.

Haru took it gently from her and ran his fingers over it. "Some light would be nice…"

Liàng promptly called fire into existence.

"…did I know you could do that?"

"No."

The necklace was circular, a white lotus tile glued to the stone from a signet ring.

"She's on the level," Haru reported, tossing the necklace to Sokka. In the firelight, he could see the bandages on Liàng and Ty Lee.

Sokka frowned for a minute, then decided to accept this. "Fine. Fine, ok."

Ty Lee pushed herself back up. "Mmkay, um. What now?"

Haru offered Ty Lee a hand up, smiling at her. "We should take you back to our group. We've got a healer with us. Two healers," he corrected, thinking of Leilani.

She grinned back. "You're still cute." She accepted his hand.

"...do you hit on _every_ guy you meet?" Sokka asked, exasperated.

"Nope, just the cute ones. But the ugly ones like to do things for me, so I let them delude themselves. It makes them happy!"

"…so wait, which one was I?" Liàng asked as he heaved himself upright.

"You have to ask?" Haru shot back.

"Look, brat—"

"Liàng, behave, or I'll have to steal Zuli and 'Nami's whips," Ty Lee said, swaying on her feet a bit.

"Yes, mistress," Liàng replied, worry erasing the irritation on his face.

Haru quickly wrapped an arm around her waist. "You can lean on me," he told her gently. "Sokka, lead the way out."

"'Kay," she said, leaning on the merchant-turned-bandit.

"Right. Fine. This way." Sokka led the way out.

Liàng picked up the rear, slow and steady. As they reached daylight, he doused the flame, and quietly asked Haru, Ty Lee, and Sokka to keep his bending secret.

"Sure thing, toy," she said, squeezing her eyes shut. "My lips're sealed."

"Why do you want to keep it secret? I mean, you'd be the only firebender in the group," Sokka pointed out.

"I don't use it for fighting, for starters," Liàng said. "And for another thing, keeping my bending secret is the very thing that got me and Ty Lee out of prison."

"It's probably a better idea anyway," said Haru, knowing that the number of firebenders in their group would actually reach two once Liàng was there.

"Fine, if you're sure," Sokka said.

Liàng nodded, and fell silent once more as they approached the steadily increasing force.

Katara leapt to her feet. "What happened? What are--what's _she _doing here?"

"She's with us, Katara," Haru said quietly. "Sokka, show Katara the pendent."

Sokka, sighing, showed his sister Ty Lee's pendant.

"...Ok, ok, so she's with us."

"...You're really pretty, but _I'm_ so much prettier," Ty Lee informed the waterbender.

"Let's not antagonize the nice bender," Liàng said tiredly. "I'm too tired to dodge icicles."

"Oh. Ok."

Leilani came out from behind the Red Spirit then. "Um… do you need healing?" she asked the pair of them tentatively.

"Liàng made me stop bleeding, so I think I'm ok. But I think his ribs're still broken, I didn't know how to set them," the younger woman informed her.

"I can fix those," Leilani said, a bit more sure of herself. "Katara, could you take care of Lady Ty Lee?"

"Not a lady anymore. I quit, and rescued Liàng's apprentice, and then Mai tried to kill me. Which kind of sucks, since she's the reason I turned traitor in the first place." She frowned at the ground. "I'm dizzy."

"...Why don't you sit down, and I'll see if I can fix it," Katara said, gently.

At the same time, Leilani gently urged Liàng to the other side of the camp, where she set about healing his wounds.

The Red Spirit was staring at Ty Lee, wishing he dared to ask her what she meant.

Haru hovered over Ty Lee a little, worrying some.

"I'm gonna be juuuuuuuust fine, handsome! 'Til Mai and Zuli catch up with me, anyway. Oh, well."

"Of course you are," Katara said gently, checking to see if Ty Lee had hit her head.

A pained groan rose from Liàng across the way, but that was the only sound he made to indicate his discomfort with what Leilani was doing.

"Ok, Ty Lee? I need you to hold still for me, ok? You're going to rip yourself open again," Katara said, starting to lose patience.

"Fine. But I can still do all my tricks, wanna see?"

"No, I want you to lie still."

Haru knelt behind Ty Lee and put his hands on her shoulders, holding her down. "Here, Katara."

"Thanks, Haru," she said, and fixed the injury in Ty Lee's side. "Ty Lee, did you hit your head?"

"Um...no, but the Dai Li were throwing these giant rocks at me...I guess one of them might've hit my head? I don't really 'member much of the escape."

"Sounds like a head injury to me," Leilani commented tiredly as she finished healing the burly smith.

"Yeah. I think I can fix it, if you just talk me through it," Katara said.

Leilani carefully — and slowly — made her way to Katara, and explained to Katara the methods she used to heal head injuries.

"Ok, ok, I think I've got it." The younger waterbender frowned, and focused as best as she could on fixing the damage to Ty Lee's head. It wasn't precisely bloodbending, but it was close enough to make her skin crawl. And if she screwed up, she could kill Ty Lee, or break her mind.

If it had been anyone else, she wouldn't've risked it. But even if Ty Lee was on their side…she was still Ty Lee. And maybe she deserved a little punishment.

Liàng moved to sit at the edge of the circle, staring into the fire while Katara worked on the acrobat. _Mi-Cha…_

"Is something wrong?" Aang asked him, sitting down next to the smith.

Liàng shot the Avatar a small smile. "I'm just worried about my apprentice."

"But Ty Lee said she rescued your apprentice..."

"From the Dai Li," Liàng explained. "Mi-Cha's on her own somewhere… and she's already lost her father to the Resistance."

"...I'm sorry," Aang said, staring moodily into the fire. This was all his fault, anyway. If he hadn't screwed up five years ago...

Liàng put a strong hand on the boy's shoulder. "Mi-Cha's probably safe," he admitted. "I'm a little overprotective of her."

"I'm sure she is," Aang said, smiling up at the older man.

The smith grinned back at him. "Anyway, I knew the risks when I accepted my task."

"How'd you guys escape?" he asked, curious for the story.

"I'm a smith by trade," Liàng explained. "While I mostly work jewelry these days, I learned on iron. I know the weaknesses of metal, and I exploited them to get us both out."

"Awesome!" Aang said, sounding delighted.

"Yeah, it really was," Liàng replied with a small laugh. "Ty Lee helped to bluff us past the gates."

"Really? How? Well, I guess it might not have been long enough for them to find out she'd turned traitor..."

"That was it precisely," Liàng agreed. "They figured metal cells would be enough to hold two traitors."

Aang nodded. "Well, I'm glad you two escaped."

The smith glanced to where Haru was helping Katara with the fidgety acrobat. "So am I," he said softly.

"So, what's your apprentice look like? Maybe we'll run into her."

Liàng shot him a grateful glance. "She's got brown hair and grey eyes. I want to say about five feet tall. She's also an Earthbender, though not in the sense that most people consider when they think of bending."

"All right, we'll make sure to keep an eye out for her."

"Thank you," he said quietly. "Very much."

"No problem," the Avatar said, smiling again.

Across the camp, Shang just stared. It was amazing how this group kept growing — Leilani had admitted to him that it had started out with just her and the Red Spirit, and even she had joined him.

The Red Spirit sat next to him, watching Katara fix Ty Lee, wondering what she'd meant when she'd said Mai was the reason she turned traitor.

"I never would have guessed Ty Lee would have been the inside badgermole," Shang said quietly.

Ling Hun shrugged. He took out his notebook. "I just want to know why."

"Get her boytoy to ask her?" Shang suggested. "I'm kinda curious myself."

"Haru or Liàng?" the Spirit asked, somehow conveying wryness in his writing.

"Haru," Shang clarified. "Since he's figured it out."

He nodded. "I will, then. Later, after Katara has finished fixing her."

The soldier nodded, smiled wryly, and fell silent once more; Teo watched the two men suspiciously. Whoever the Red Spirit was, he had to be Fire Nation.

The Red Spirit was aware of Teo's suspicion, but ignored it for now. Soon, it wouldn't matter anyway.

"There, you've got it," Leilani said some moments later.

"Great!" Katara said. "I'm going to go sleep for a few hours now." She certainly _did not_ shoot a pointed glare at the Red Spirit. His sleeping habits (or lack thereof) were none of her business.

"Me too," agreed Leilani, flushing a little bit. "Healing things internally always makes me tired…"

"Good idea," Katara said, then wandered over to her bedroll and was promptly dead to the world.

"…I didn't even know waterbenders could heal," admitted Liàng after a moment, when Leilani had fallen asleep as well.

"Well, we didn't, either, until...well, a couple months after Sokka and Katara started traveling with me," Aang replied.

"Really? What happened?"

"I accidentally burned Katara," Aang said, quietly. "She healed herself."

"…oh," Liàng said awkwardly, after a moment, watching Haru flirt delicately with Ty Lee.

"Yeah." He stared into the fire. "I haven't used firebending since."

"…that isn't good," Liàng said. "Aren't you supposed to master all of the elements?"

"I'm never firebending again," the younger man said, flatly. "It's too dangerous."

"One accident convinces you fire is too dangerous?"

"It's not just the one accident."

"Explain," said the young smith kindly.

"Well, it's everything that's happened since I came out of that iceberg. I've never seen or even heard of firebending being used for anything but destruction," the Avatar replied, quietly.

Liàng sighed. "And we can thank Sozin and his descendents for that," he said with no little bitterness. "What they use is a perversion of fire and firebending."

"You don't get it," Aang said. "I've only met three firebenders who could even remotely pass for decent human beings, and...well, two of them _were_ Sozin's descendents. So it's not that simple. Fire's just too dangerous. And I won't use it."

Liàng glanced at him, then abruptly made a decision. "I'm a smith," he told the Avatar, stretching his hand out towards the campfire. "Fire is the source of my livelihood as much as metal is." Twitching his fingers, he called a lick of flame to his palm. "Fire is no more destructive than any of the other elements, Aang. Rain can cause flash floods and drown people. Winds can knock houses over. The earth shifts and causes rifts to form. Every one of the elements has both good and bad points." As he spoke, the fire danced in his hand.

Aang's eyes widened. "_You're_ a _firebender?_" he whispered.

"Yes," he replied, shooing the small flame back to its parent. "I'm mostly self-taught, admittedly, and I've tried to keep it secret since I was small."

"Oh. Um. Wow. Um."

He glanced at Aang. "I'm not from the Fire Nation, if that's what you're wondering. Despite how I look."

Aang stared into the campfire. "I guess you're right, and that's ok for you, but I still won't do it. I don't want to hurt anyone else."

"With the right control, you wouldn't," Liàng pointed out. "But I'm probably not the best person to teach your firebending anyway."

The Avatar shrugged. "I'm not sure there _is_ a right person. Not living, anyways." His eyes flicked over to the Red Spirit, too fast to be followed.

Liàng laughed. "That's the trick, isn't it. Though I like to think my control is fairly good. But if you don't want to learn it, I'm not going to force it on you."

"Thanks," Aang said, with the kind of relieved gratitude that suggested that he'd had this argument with more than one person before.

"No problem, kid. Besides — I kind of fail at combative bending."

He nodded. "Right."

While the Avatar and Liàng talked, Haru tried to convince Ty Lee to follow the example of the waterbenders and get some shuteye.

"Yeah, I probably should sleep," she admitted.

He smiled. "You can use my bed roll – I'll probably be up all night anyway."

"You sure?" she asked, smiling back.

"Absolutely."

"Mmkay, then. Which one's yours?"

Gently, Haru guided her to the right one, which he surreptitiously put near Leilani and Katara.

"Thanks, handsome," she said, smiling sleepily up at him. "...I think I need to borrow a shirt from someone at some point, too," she thought out loud.

"You can use mine for now," he offered.

"You sure? Thanks again."

"Glad to help out," he replied, fishing in his bag and pulling out a shirt to hand to her.

She smiled up at him, and pulled it on, then slid into his bedroll. "Night," she murmured, then fell asleep before she could hear any response.

Smiling slightly, the earthbender tucked the blanket a bit more securely around her shoulders, then headed for the fire himself.

Aang was still staring at the fire, the Red Spirit was off on the edge of the campsite, keeping watch, and most of the others had gone to sleep.

Teo had fallen asleep in his wheelchair for the third time in as many days; with a tolerant sigh, Haru gently carried the scientist to his bedroll and settled him down before sitting at last.

"Are you going to bed any time soon?" Aang asked after a long silence.

"Probably not," Haru admitted. "The smith bastard and I have to talk at some point—"

"—if we can do it without tearing each other's throats out," finished Liàng.

"...It might help if you stop calling each other names...?" the Avatar suggested tentatively.

"Oh, the merchant brat and I have been doing _this_ for years," Liàng told him with a grin. "This is us in a good mood."

"...I'd hate to see what you in a bad mood is like," he replied, fervently.

Haru laughed softly. "I believe the general got that dubious delight."

"And as I recall," Liàng added, "he told us to grow up and behave like men or he'd take us outside and paddle our bottoms like children."

The Red Spirit laughed a little at that, silently.

Aang grinned. "That sounds like Iroh."

"Well, it worked. We shut up, even if we didn't work out our differences."

"It's highly unlikely we ever will," Haru pointed out.

"Ok, if you're sure," the Avatar said.

While the Red Spirit, Shang, and Aang listened, Liàng and Haru updated each other on their varied situations; it was rather telling that neither man ribbed the other about his capture.

"Well, if everything goes well, this'll all be over soon," Aang said quietly, glancing over at the Red Spirit.

"I hope so," Haru said. "And I really hope that there isn't a traitor among the resistance."

"Which is unfortunately likely," sighed Liàng.

The Red Spirit tossed them a piece of paper from his notebook, which read, "It stands to reason, since there was a traitor in Azula's court, and both of you were exposed."

"That's what scares me," Liàng said, glancing at Haru. "And if both of _us_ have been exposed…"

"…Bian," Haru realized.

"Bian?" Aang asked.

"She's connected to the Resistance," Liàng explained. "I know of her through Mi-Cha's father."

"And she healed me after… I was captured," Haru finished. "We should warn her."

"Ok, where is she?" Aang asked. "One of us can run a message to her real quick while the rest of us finish planning and get ready to end this."

"I'll do it," Liàng replied. "I need to start trying to find Mi-Cha anyway. I can do both."

Aang nodded. "Good idea."

"I'll set off in the morning," he then added. "It's been a _really_ long night."

"You should probably get some sleep, then," Aang suggested. "We all should."

"Good idea." With that, Liàng promptly fell backwards from his seat and closed his eyes. He was asleep in seconds.

The Red Spirit passed the others a note saying he'd stay up and keep watch.

"I'm not tired. If anyone cares," said Shang.

"You don't _have_ to sleep," Aang said.

"I'm just saying."

"Well, _I'm_ sleeping," Aang said, and found a relatively soft patch of ground to curl up on.

Despite his words, Shang drifted off soon after, leaving Haru and the Red Spirit as the only ones awake.

The Spirit stared off into the darkness, silent as always. After a long moment, he passed Haru a note. "Could you ask Ty Lee why she did it?"

Haru blinked then glanced at him. "When she wakes up? Sure."

He nodded, bowed slightly, and returned to his vigil.

Haru fell asleep soon after; just when the Red Spirit was considering sleep himself, Leilani woke suddenly with a frightened gasp.

The Red Spirit was at her side in an instant.

Startled, she looked up at him, and for a moment, true fear gripped her. Then she saw the mask and not just the eyes behind it, and let out a shuddering breath. "I'm sorry…"

"Nothing to be sorry for," he whispered.

She dropped her eyes rather than reply, wishing fervently that the nightmares would go away.

"Do you...want to talk about it?" he asked, after a long and exceptionally awkward silence.

"J-Just a nightmare," she said. "Not important…" She rubbed at her breastbone absently.

"All right, if you're sure."

She nodded, and shuddered. She'd have to talk to someone about this before the nightmares got worse, but… not him. She couldn't tell him what they were about, what she'd seen on the Day of Black Sun. At the very least, it would only increase that guilt he carried.

He stayed next to her, though, until either she fell back asleep or the others started waking up.

Right before she drifted away again, Leilani whispered, "Thank you."

In reply, he only squeezed her hand slightly.


	27. Haru 7

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 27: ****Haru**

Haru was the second person to wake that morning, and used the time to bathe in a nearby stream and return to the fire to help with breakfast.

Ty Lee drifted awake not long afterward--tired as she was, she'd spent too much time sleeping or unconscious the day before. "Morning, handsome," she said, smiling at him and unbraiding her hair to brush it.

"Good morning," he replied with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better, but I'm ok. You?"

"I'm better now." The look in his eyes indicated just what had made his day better.

She grinned at him. "I'm glad to hear that."

"There is… something I'm curious about though," he admitted.

"Uh-huh? What's up?"

"…why did you turn on Azula?"

"Oh. That."

On the other side of the campsite, the Red Spirit looked up, his interest caught.

"Y-you don't have to tell me if it's too personal," Haru said hastily.

"No, no, it's ok. It's not personal, it's just...sad." She stared thoughtfully at the ground, absently finger-combing her hair.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sitting next to her.

"I first started thinking about it after Zuzu disappeared. It was...well, it really hurt Mai, when he just vanished like that. And...well, that wasn't the worst part. The _worst_ part was that Azula...didn't even seem to care." She glared at the ground. "It wasn't even so much that she didn't care about Zuko dying, or that she might've killed him. Even when they were sort of getting along, they didn't really _like_ each other. It was that...she didn't seem to care how much it hurt Mai. She's supposed to be her _friend_, and she didn't even _care_."

"…oh," said Haru. Without thinking, he reached out and wrapped his arms around Ty Lee's shoulders, at a loss for words.

She leaned against him, closer than was really decent. "She tried to kill herself," she mumbled. "Mai did. I stopped her. We never told Azula."

Haru nodded, his hold on Ty Lee tightening. It had to be hard, realizing that a friend from your childhood honestly didn't care if you were hurt.

"And then, after she took the throne...the bodies just started piling up. She killed all the guards from the prison where the General was being held, after he escaped, and that was just the start. After a year...I couldn't take it anymore. I love Zuli, like she's one of my sisters, but...I just couldn't take it anymore. That she didn't even care." Ty Lee was crying now.

The young merchant-turned-bandit held the acrobat close, one hand idly caressing her hair. "I don't blame you at all," he murmured. "Not at all."

She curled up against him, still crying.

Across the clearing, the Red Spirit stood up and silently walked away.

Gently, Haru rocked Ty Lee in his arms, resting his chin on top of her head and closing his eyes, doing what he could to comfort the younger woman. He wanted to say something, but couldn't come up with anything that wasn't stupidly inane or sounded vaguely like a come-on.

"Sorry to just dump all this on you like that," she said, after a minute.

"It's all right," he assured her. "I did ask you."

She nodded, and gave him a shaky little smile. "Yeah, you did."

He smiled back, loosening his hold on her somewhat, but not completely letting go of her.

She considered a minute, then snuggled closer.

Haru smiled, perfectly content to stay there. And if Sokka said anything, well, he could always make him trip.

Ty Lee smiled as well, and rested her head on his shoulder. "Thanks for listening."

"Glad to do it," he told her softly, some color flaring to his cheeks as he tentatively kissed her forehead.

She tilted her head up and caught the kiss with her lips, instead.

Green eyes went wide in surprise, then closed as he kissed her, shifting his hold to make it more comfortable for her. She twisted and put her arms around him, and Haru pulled her closer still, losing all sense of time and location.


	28. Shang 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 28: ****Shang**

Shang was the next one to wake up, with his arm cramping again. He was getting very annoyed with this whole hands-bound thing, and he was sick of being the good little prisoner. Spying no sign of the Red Spirit, he muttered a soft curse and focused inward, twisting his hands behind his back and trying to get loose.

After a good many minutes of struggling — which Haru and Ty Lee didn't even _notice_; it was obvious they had no military training at all — Shang managed to free himself. Rubbing at his cramped arm, he slipped away from the camp in search of the Red Spirit.

He was eventually to be found, half a mile away, doing his best to cut down a tree with his fists.

"Come two days' time, broken hands will be a problem," Shang said after a moment of watching this.

"She tried to kill herself," he said, by way of reply.

"It wasn't your fault."

"Yes, it was. I disappeared."

"Did you _choose_ to disappear?"

"No. But I should have been there."

Shang made an annoyed sound. "You can't be held accountable for things that were beyond your control."

"But it was my duty to be here," the other replied, glaring at the dent he'd made in the tree. "If I'd been there, _none_ of this would've happened.

"You're right," the corporal admitted, coming closer to the Red Spirit. "But on the other hand, did you _ask_ to spend five years in the Spirit World? Did you even want to take a visit there?"

"No."

"So at the very least it's the fault of whoever pulled you there to start with," Shang told him.

"No. It's _my_ fault. I'm not blaming anyone else for my failures."

"It was out of your hands!"

"So? I had responsibilities. And I didn't fulfill them. And Mai tried to kill herself, and my insanely dangerous sister has taken over the world." He slumped to the ground. "I'm starting to think that killing her won't fix _anything_."

"Killing her won't," Shang said honestly. "But it's a step. And that's all you can do now, take steps into making things right again. And beating up trees because you feel bad over things that were out of your control will not help at all."

"Helps me calm down," the masked man muttered.

"The pain? Or the motions?"

"Both, I guess."

"You could try sparring, you know. With me, with the annoying kid, with Katara, anyone."

"Don't want to give myself away. Or hurt anyone."

"Did I say _anything_ about bending?" Shang asked him. "You can spar without weapons. The whole _point_ of sparring is serious practice without serious damage."

"My control is flakey at the best of times," the younger man reminded him. "I don't want to take any chances."

"And coming out on your own to beat up trees isn't taking chances? Odds are Azula knows you're coming by now, even if she doesn't know who you are."

"I'm being careful."

"I don't think she would target you directly," Shang said softly. "Too dangerous."

The Red Spirit stared at the ground. "I know."

"Rumors about you were spreading, even before I took a pot to the head," Shang pointed out. "Not a single one of those rumors state that you're traveling alone."

"I _know_."

"Then what will you do?" Shang asked him seriously.

"If they take her, I will get her back," the younger man said flatly.

"Don't you think it might be easier to make sure they can't take her in the first place?"

"I'll do everything I can to prevent it."

"Then maybe we should head back to camp," Shang said softly. "I'll deal with those damned ropes again if I must."

"Good idea. After you."

Shang nodded and led the way back to the camp, where Haru and Ty Lee were still occupied with each other.

The Red Spirit shot a glance at them, then settled himself down next to a tree, not far from Leilani.

Shang stretched and took the opportunity to do some push-ups. He didn't want to get out of fighting shape just because he'd been captured. In addition, he wanted to see the expression on Sokka's face when he woke up.

And wake up he did, just then. "...Hey!"

Shang smirked as he pushed himself away from the ground, then lowered himself again. "Good morning to you too."

"You're--how did you--who untied you?!"

"Nobody," he admitted. "I got myself free. My arm was cramping something righteous, so I decided to work it out."

Sokka glared at him, got up, and tied him up again.

"You suck," muttered the other man, testing the ropes.

"Yeah, well, you're our prisoner."

"And yet notice how I'm _still here_."

"Yeah, well, better safe than sorry."

The corporal sighed and settled back. His fun was over for now, and he'd managed to alert the Red Spirit to possible dangers. And he'd been able to mess with the Water Tribe warrior.


	29. Leilani 5

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 29: ****Leilani**

Ty Lee was down by the stream near the campsite, washing her hair.

Leilani was with her, waist-deep in the water (with only a breast band and loincloth preserving her modesty) and practicing a bending technique Katara had shown her. Her long hair hung loose around her shoulders, and the breast band revealed a rather ugly scar starting near her hip and arcing across her abdomen to her shoulder.

Suddenly, Ty Lee paused. "Hey, Leilani, did you hear something?"

Startled, the water bender turned to her. "No…," she admitted, dropping the water she'd been playing with. "…but maybe we should head back?"

"Probably a good idea," the younger girl said, squeezing the last of the water out of her hair.

Before either could move farther than that, however, several soldiers spilled out of the trees. Ty Lee spun into action right away. "'Lani, run!" she called.

"Don't let her get away!" one of the soldiers shouted, and another dove for the waterbender.

A surge of water slammed him away, and Leilani tried to run, but she was too far out to move quickly and was nowhere near as talented a bender as Katara was.

Ty Lee did what she could, but there were too many soldiers for the acrobat to handle on her own--particularly as she was used to fighting with someone at her back. Within moments, the two young women had been overpowered and were being dragged to the city.

Frightened and sobbing, Leilani pleaded for her release or Ty Lee's, to no avail.

"Shut up," one of the soldiers said, cuffing her.

"Stop it!" the commander ordered. "Her Ladyship wants that one unharmed."

That… was not good. Leilani fell silent regardless, trembling.

Ty Lee didn't stop struggling, but, as the soldiers had no such orders for her, this did not end well for her.

The waterbender attempted to heal Ty Lee afterwards, but the men didn't take kindly to this at all.

The commander bound Leilani's hands and feet, and warned her against further such demonstrations.

After an hour or two, the two young women were tossed into a specially-built wooden cell, and locked inside.

"...Being a prisoner isn't much fun. Ow," Ty Lee managed to say, trying to sound as cheerful as usual.

Leilani just bowed her head and curled up tighter, trying to hide her scar. "I know," she whispered.

"You ok?" the younger woman asked.

"I'll never be okay again," she said. "What about you?"

"I've been better."

The island woman nodded absently and shifted slightly, then gasped in pain. Her arms had been bound _tight_.

"Want me to try and untie you?" the former noblewoman asked.

"Please? It h-hurts…"

"No problem," she said, and made her painful way over to the other woman and started working at the knots.

"Thank you, Ty Lee," said Leilani quietly, closing her eyes.

It took a long time, but Ty Lee eventually managed to untie the ropes. "See? All better now. You're gonna be fine."

Leilani turned and gently hugged the acrobat. "Thank you," she whispered again.

Ty Lee did her best not to flinch when she got hugged. "No problem," she whispered back.

The waterbender fell silent then, staring at the wooden bars pensively. Maybe… maybe there was a way should could help Ty Lee in return…

The younger woman settled back against the wall. "Everything's going to be fine," she said, as if to reassure both of them.

Leilani looked back at her. "Maybe if I was Katara," she said regretfully.

"What d'you mean?" Ty Lee asked, puzzled.

"If I was stronger," she clarified. "I could do something to get us out."

"Maybe. But there's no water in here, is there?"

"Well, there's always spit. Or tears, or blood," Leilani said. "But I wouldn't be able to do anything useful with it. I'm only a healer, not a fighter. The Fire Nation made certain of that."

"Sorry..." Ty Lee said, pulling her knees up to her chest.

"It isn't your fault," Leilani said kindly. "You were just a kid when I was taken. **I** was just a kid."

"Still. Someone has to say it."

Leilani reached out and hugged her again, keeping quiet, staying gentle, wishing there was more she could do.

Ty Lee hugged back.

There was a noise outside, like jangling keys.

Leilani's hold on Ty Lee shifted in response, becoming more protective.

A key scraped in the lock, the door creaked open, and a slender, pale, dark-haired girl came in.

Blue eyes went wide as Leilani faced Lady Mai.

Cold golden eyes flicked to the waterbender. "Get back."

Trembling, the younger woman shook her head.

"'Lani, it's ok," Ty Lee muttered.

"But I—"

"Back. Away," Mai said, sharply.

With a whisper of apology, Leilani did as she was told.

"Why'd you do it, Ty Lee?" the older woman asked after a long moment.

Biting her lip, Leilani retreated to a corner of the cell, watching the two noblewomen.

"Azula didn't care," Ty Lee said, sounding angry. "She didn't_ care_ how much you were hurting, and then she--"

"I know. I know about that, and I know what she did." Mai stared at the ground.

"Then you understand," Ty Lee said, relieved.

"_You _don't."

"I wanted to _help_ you! I wanted to--"

"You do know Azula probably killed him, right?" Mai interrupted her, voice colorless.

_But she didn't_, thought Leilani, to terrified to speak.

"That's part of why I did it," Ty Lee whispered.

"You don't _get it_," Mai said, still staring at the ground. "Even if she didn't care--even if she _killed_ him--she's all I have left of him. She and Zyra."

Leilani tried to speak, tried to tell Mai the truth, but her throat had locked up and the words wouldn't come out.

"I'm sorry," Ty Lee whispered. "Mai, I'm sorry, if I'd known--I'm so, so sorry..."

"Me, too," Mai said quietly.

And then she cut Ty Lee's throat.

Leilani didn't scream until after blood had splashed across her face, so hot it was almost burning. But once she started, she didn't stop.

Mai, for her part, stepped away from the body, wiped her knife off, sheathed it, walked out of the cell, out of the prison, out of the palace, into the gardens, and on and on and on, into the lower rings of the city.


	30. Haru 8

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 30: ****Haru**

After several minutes, Haru frowned. "Ty Lee and Leilani aren't back yet," he said.

The Red Spirit leapt to his feet and ran to where the two young women had gone; the Earthbender was a split-second behind him. They found only Leilani's discarded clothing.

The younger man froze, and was silent for a long moment. Then he set a tree on fire. Then he started looking for a trail.

Haru helped, not even commenting on the sudden fire. There were more important things on his mind. The others, however, noticed; Liàng sprinted to the stream and doused the fire. "What's going on?"

The Red Spirit didn't answer, but he found the trail, and started heading down it.

Rolling his eyes, the smith returned to the group. "The island girl and Ty Lee are missing," he announced. "Mask-face and the merchant's brat are looking for them."

"We'd better help," Katara said instantly.

"Go fast," Liàng cautioned. "Mask-face isn't waiting for _anyone_."

"Got it." She launched herself after Haru and the Red Spirit.

"And _I_ need to warn Bian," he said, "missing folk or not. Water boy, you'll guard the camp?"

"I'd rather protect my sister," he snapped.

"Well, someone needs to," Liàng pointed out.

"I'll stay with the camp," Aang said. "Sokka, you go with Katara and the others."

The smith nodded to Aang and set off on his way; already half a mile down the road, Haru was silently following the Red Spirit, trying to assuage the fear in the pit of his stomach.

Katara caught up with him, followed shortly by her brother and Toph.

Silently, the former bandit nodded to them, and resumed his silent trailing. One hand was clenched into a fist despite his outward calm, and it was starting to tremble.

The trail led them to Ba Sing Se. The Red Spirit stared up at the wall, frowning.

"I'll get us through," Toph said, quietly, and broke a small hole in it.

Still silent, Haru helped her enlarge it until it was big enough for the five of them to get through.

The Red Spirit nodded his thanks to them, and kept moving. It wasn't long before they reached the prison.

Haru braced himself to tear apart the prison's foundations, only stopping when he realised that he might kill Ty Lee and Leilani if he did that.

The Red Spirit found a sewage pipe, decided it was the best secretive entry, and slipped down into it.

Katara spared a moment to wince at the stench and the idea of trekking through sewage, then followed him down.

Haru was the next one down, followed by Sokka and Toph.

The Red Spirit led them up to the cell block, which was empty save for a guard at one end--quickly frozen to a wall by Katara--and a distinctive wooden cell.

"Leilani's in there," Toph said immediately.

Her soft sobs made that plainly evident, and Haru, his heart sinking, asked, "…Ty Lee?"

"...I don't know," Toph hedged. "I can't feel her heart beating."

"Get this open!" Fear made his voice high, even though he already knew. His heart wouldn't accept it.

The Red Spirit drew his swords and cut the door apart.

Haru pushed past him — and stopped. The wood, the floor, the ceiling, Leilani, everything was covered in blood. And in Leilani's arms…

Numb, Haru reached out to touch Ty Lee's face. She was cold, and dead, eyes still wide and staring, drenched in her own blood.

Unaware of anything but the young noblewoman, Haru gathered her into his arms, holding her against his chest, not even realizing that he was crying as he held her close, willing life into her body, warmth into cold flesh, and knowing all the while that it was useless, she was gone, and nothing he could do would change that…

The Red Spirit hugged Leilani, unsure what else he could do--he had to make sure she was all right, then...well, he was already in the city. There was no reason he, Katara, and Toph couldn't implement the last phase of the assassination plan.

Once he'd made sure Leilani was all right.

Clinging tightly to him, the island woman continued her soft crying, and she was speaking, too: "I'm sorry, I couldn't do anything, I didn't even realize she was going to—"

"It's ok," he barely breathed.

"No it's not!" she wailed.

He just kept holding her, doing everything he could to calm her.

Eventually she quieted, but the real danger was in the heartbroken Earthbender not a meter from them.

The Red Spirit then turned to Toph and Katara.

"...Now?" Katara asked.

"We might as well," Toph said, quietly.

"Haru...?" Sokka said, cautiously approaching the older man.

"What?" he whispered, still holding onto Ty Lee. His green eyes were like emeralds — beautiful, but cold, hard, and lifeless.

"Are you ok...?"

Haru began to snap, but cut himself off. Sokka understood. Sokka understood what he was undergoing; he, too, had lost someone he loved — twice. "No," Haru said at last. "No."

"Katara, Toph, and Ling Hun are going for it. You up for storming the front gates, causing a diversion?" Sokka knew that, at this point, a little vengeance might be more than therapeutic.

"…yes," Haru said quietly. Gently, ever so gently, he laid Ty Lee's body down, kissing her one last time before pulling off his tunic and covering her face with it. Taking a deep breath to control himself, he looked up at Sokka, then over to Katara, Toph, the Spirit, and Leilani. "What about her?"

"It's probably best if you stay here," Katara told Leilani. "In case...something happens. We want you to be safe."

The older woman nodded, shaking. "R-right…"

"We'll be back as soon as possible," Toph said. The Red Spirit hugged her one last time, quick, fraternal, then he and the two other women slipped out.

"Ready, Haru?" Sokka said, quietly.

"Yes." The older man's voice was as quiet as Sokka's, and emotionless.

"This way," Sokka said, and led him out of the prison to storm the castle.

Haru followed, silent and deadly; as the two men fought, it rapidly became apparent that Haru no longer cared about the outcome of this fight. All that mattered to him was avenging Ty Lee.

Sokka respected this. And stayed the hell out of Haru's way.


	31. Katara

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 31: ****Katara**

Ba Sing Se.

Impenetrable city, wealthiest of all cities, city at the heart of the world.

Ba Sing Se.

Where empires rise and fall, and souls are passed around like candy, and lives aren't worth the ink it takes to write their names.

Ba Sing Se.

In crystal caves of heartbreaking beauty, the city kills hope and destroys potential heroism.

Ba Sing Se.

"_I _have_ changed!_"

"I wonder what he meant," Katara said, idly playing with the water in the underground pool, while Toph, up ahead, shifted through a blocked tunnel to break them into the palace. They'd offered to help, but she said she could handle it--it was delicate work, anyway, as to shift the blockage too quickly or the wrong way would bring the tunnel down on their heads.

The Red Spirit looked up and over at the waterbender.

"Prince Zuko. This was the last place I saw him." She drew some of the water out of the pool and idly made two miniature whips with it, making them dance in front of her. "Azula had captured us both, and her Dai Li locked us up together, in here. Well, in another room down here but…yeah. Anyway, we started talking, and I was…yelling at him. Furious. After all he'd done to us. Until he came to our village…I didn't have a face for my enemy. Looking back, even if he was the most familiar and recognizable face, I guess he probably wasn't the worst one. I mean, he tried to keep bystanders out of things as much as possible, and when he made a deal with us, he was never the one to break it. He was a much better person than most of the other Firenation people we fought, even counting what he did here. I mean, Azula and Iroh were both trying to get him to do what they wanted him to, and…well…Azula had a lot more to offer. All Iroh had to offer was a chance to do the right thing. She offered him a chance to go home." She smiled, faintly and a little wryly. "It wasn't 'til I'd been away from home for three years that I understood his choice. And I _chose_ to leave. I wasn't kicked out." She frowned. "I lost my train of thought. What was I--oh, right. I remember. Anyway, we were talking, and we started talking about our families." Several feet away, the Red Spirit shifted a little uncomfortably. "I…almost started to forgive him. Seeing how confused and hurt he was…it sort of made me remember that the deaths and damage weren't all on one side, you know?" She glanced over at him. He bowed his head and didn't answer. Uncomfortable with the silence, she continued her story. "Anyway, then Aang and Iroh showed up to rescue us, and then Azula showed up and…Aang and I were fighting her. Here, in this room. And then Zuko joined us." She paused for a moment. "He just…stood there for a few seconds, poised to strike, just watching us, looking from me to Aang to Azula and back again. For a minute, I thought…he was going to do the right thing. Join us, strike at his sister. I thought that we actually had a chance to take her down, if he did it."

"But he didn't…" the Red Spirit whispered, too faint for her to hear.

"But he didn't," she unknowingly echoed. "He shot at us, instead. We ended up facing off, him and me, across this pool. 'I thought you had changed!' I shouted. 'I _have_ changed.' What the hell does that mean?"

He didn't answer.

"It's weird, though," she said, absently making shapes with her water. "I saw him maybe ten times, over the course of like six months, and every day I wonder if he'll catch up with us again. If I'll see him again. And I can't stop thinking about it…'I _have_ changed.' What he might have meant." She sighed, and dropped the water back into the pool with a tiny splash. "Guess I'll never know."

The Red Spirit stared at her for a long minute, then took out his notebook and wrote something down.

She took the paper, scanned it, then snorted. "I don't _miss _him," she insisted. "I…I hated him too long for that."

Another note.

"No, I don't anymore. It's…not that simple. Because I understand him a little better now, I think. I mean, Iroh told us some of what his parents put him through, and I get why he sided with Azula here. So I can't _hate_ him for it anymore. But…" She hugged her knees to her chest. "Maybe if I could talk to him again…I don't know. Half the time, I'm still worried he'll come back from the grave and start hounding us again, looking for a way home."

He stared at her again, in silence, pen still. Then he put the pen and notebook away and pushed up his mask--not far, just enough to bare the lower half of his face. He was fair--probably Firenation stock--and she thought his jawline looked familiar, but before she could say anything, he was right there, inches away, taking her hands…

He kissed her.

It wasn't anything special--she'd had better kisses, deeper ones, from Aang and the other boys she'd dated occasionally since breaking up with the young Avatar. This was light, simple, the barest instant of contact.

He leaned forward a bit after breaking the kiss, resting his right cheek against her left--the line between clay and flesh making a slight indent into her face. "I'm sorry," he breathed into her ear, then pulled away when Toph called to them that it was safe for them to join her.

"Zuko…?" she whispered, when the initial shock at hearing _that _voice--_"I'll save you from the pirates."_--faded.

Before she finished saying his name, he was out of sight, mask back in place, disappeared again.


	32. Liàng 4

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 32: ****Liàng**

It was nearing midday when Liàng finally located the herbalist's home and knocked on the door.

The apothecary answered the door. "...Can I help you?" she asked.

He bowed politely. "You may be in danger," he said quietly.

"What assurances do I have that _you_ aren't the danger?"

Pulling up his sleeve, Liàng showed her the metal band around his forearm — an intricate design formed a lotus shape in wire; the middle of the flower was represented by a pale yellow stone.

"...Come in, quickly," she said, standing aside to let him in.

He entered, ducking his head slightly out of habit, and began worrying at his long black ponytail.

"What sort of danger?" she asked, after sealing the door and all of the windows.

"There may be a leak high up in the ranks," he told her. "Perhaps it's only coincidence, but better safe than sorry."

"I see," she said, quietly.

"The merchant's brat and I were both caught," he clarified, "and the General's source in the palace… gave herself away to help my apprentice."

"So we have a problem," Bian said.

"Yes. The brat and I thought it best to bring you warning."

"I'll have to move again...thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, then, "Will you need help?"

She shook her head. "No. But thank you for offering."

With another bow, he softly said, "Then I must begin my search for my apprentice."

"Good luck," she murmured.

"And the same to you."

Bian bowed and disappeared into the back of her house to collect her things and flee.


	33. Yù Lóng

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Author's Note:** I'm really sorry about the delay in updating...;; Updates will resume as usual on Friday. I promise.

**Chapter 33: ****Yù Lóng**

He had lost it all.

Despite the warning, he had chosen poorly, and as such had lost the only thing that had ever mattered to him.

And he would do whatever he could to get it back. No matter what it took, he would have it back again.

As he woke up with a splitting headache and the urge to divest himself of his last meal, Yù Lóng admitted to himself that drinking himself to oblivion on a nightly basis probably wasn't the best way to do that. Groaning, he padded to a river outside of Ba Sing Se and stuck his head in, trying to make the hangover go away. It didn't work, but the cold water shocked him awake.

Shielding his eyes from the glaring sun, Yù Lóng stumbled into the rude shelter he'd built two weeks ago. Or he _thought_ he'd built it. The alcohol sort of made everything foggy. Or maybe it'd been longer than two weeks? He scrubbed at the beard on his chin, annoyed, and vowed to find a razor soon. A beard didn't suit him.

Yù Lóng grabbed a comb and ran it through his rats' nest of a hairdo. How long had it been since he'd performed basic bodily maintenance? Probably not since he'd lost it, he admitted privately. New order of business: straighten hair, bath, new clothes, shave.

Or maybe not shave. Nobody would recognize him with a beard, he realized. They were too used to the other him.

This could be a good thing after all.

Not far away, another desperate and despairing young adult was slipping out of the city, tying the rope she'd just purchased to a tree, and attaching herself to the other end.

Clean and newly clad, the much-happier (outwardly, anyway) Yù Lóng finished burning his old clothes (and how he mourned the loss of such lovely things, but there was no saving them) and turned to figure out where to go next. That was when he spotted the figure hanging from the tree. "…oh, hell," he muttered, going closer to see if it was alive or dead.

She was alive, judging by the faint choking sounds she was emitting, though her lips were turning blue and she had ceased to make any movements beyond little twitches.

"Oh, _hell_," he repeated, watching her for a moment. Then he recognized her, and a grin split his face. "Well, well, well," he murmured, reaching up and cutting the rope. "Look what I found." Oddly gentle, he removed the noose.

She coughed, and tried to reach up and keep the noose around her neck.

"None of that, princess," he said cheerfully, lightly smacking her hands away. "You sit there and be a good girl."

"Fuck you," she rasped, then coughed harder.

"No thanks, I'm good," he told her.

She managed to spit in his eye, and struggled to get away to finish what she'd started.

Yù Lóng didn't even twitch, and he didn't let go of her. "No, I don't think so. No easy ways out for you."

"I'm already dead," she said, and she didn't say it to be melodramatic.

"Good for you, princess. I am too. Want a medal?"

"I just murdered my best friend for no good reason."

"And I lost the only thing in this world that mattered to me due to my own actions."

"She's the only person who's always been there for me. And I killed her to protect the woman who probably murdered my lover."

"So do Issues just run in the Fire Nation nobility?"

She glared up at him. "You do realize I could kill you first, right?"

"I think you could _try_, princess."

"You have no idea how many knives I'm carrying right at this moment, do you."

"You have no idea how fast I really am, do you," he countered, amused.

"If you're fast enough to pull away, that gives me time to cut my throat or my wrist," she pointed out.

"And yet you tried to hang yourself."

"I used the knives on her. I deserve a far slower and more ignominious death." Once again, the lack of melodrama in this pronouncement was telling.

"Well, get used to living," Yù Lóng told her.

"Fuck off."

"Nope, sorry. Don't like you enough to let you die."

She replied eloquently, with steel.

Yù Lóng was only barely fast enough to dodge the blow; he stepped to one side and caught her wrist. "That isn't nice," he noted.

His distraction allowed her to draw another knife and attempt to bring it up to the bruise on her throat.

Again, barely in time, he caught her other hand.

"Let me _go_," she choked out, trying to pull away.

"No," he said sweetly. "I don't like you enough for that."

"You can't sit on me forever," she pointed out.

"No, but I can take all your pointies, however long that may take, and then bind you."

She snorted, then coughed, then, "I'd like to see you _try_."

One brown eyebrow quirked. "Is that a challenge, princess?"

She spat at him again.

"...Yù Lóng?" a familiar light tenor said from somewhere behind them. "Please tell me this isn't what it looks like."

"Well, if it isn't Arrowhead," said Yù Lóng without turning around. "And you tell me: what does it look like?"

"Frankly? Like you're trying to...um...force her."

"I'm not interested in that sort of thing," he replied, radiating innocence. "I'm trying to keep her alive."

"...What do you mean?" he said, puzzled. He still hadn't seen the woman's face, and she was being remarkably quiet and still, now that the Avatar had shown up.

"I mean she tried to hang herself. Then cut her throat."

"What?!" He scurried over to Yù Lóng's side, then his eyes widened further. "_Mai_?!"

"Surprise," said the older man, far too cheerfully.

"Leave me alone," she said, wearily.

"But...why--"

"Because. That's why."

"What are you doing out here, anyway?" Yù Lóng asked him.

"Well, I've been traveling with the Red Spirit, and he's--Mai, why were you trying to _kill_ yourself?"

"Because I just killed my best friend to protect the woman who probably killed my lover," she snapped.

Aang's eyes widened even farther. If anything else shocked him that much, they would probably fall out of his head. "You killed Ty Lee?"

Yù Lóng tightened his grip on Mai, lest she suddenly jerk free and follow through on her threats. He didn't want that. Not yet. He didn't want a quick, easy end for her. He wanted her to _suffer_, and he wasn't entirely certain why.

"Yes," Mai spat. "Because she sold out the only people I have left who--"

"Remind you of him." Yù Lóng was quiet, though the smile hadn't left his face.

"Who are a part of him," she corrected.

"Yeah. But there's a problem with that," Yù Lóng told her. "He isn't dead."

She spat for a third time. "Don't _lie_ to me."

"Actually, Mai..."

"Leave me _alone_!" she snapped.

"Why would I lie to you when the truth would hurt you so much more?" Yù Lóng asked her, softly enough that the Avatar couldn't hear him.

"Because you're a lying bastard spy, _Yu Lài_."

"Oh no, I have been outed," Yù Lóng said with a smirk. "Must be my caring demeanor."

"No, actually, your eyes and face structure. The beard doesn't hide all of it."

"Oh, good, then I can get rid of the awful thing. This doesn't change the fact that he's alive, however."

"Don't lie," she said, a little tiredly. "Or, whatever, do, I've already lost him twice. One more time can't possibly hurt more."

"I think you'd be surprised, pretty princess," Yù Lóng purred.

"Hey, both of you, stop it," Aang said. "Yù Lóng, leave her alone. Mai, stop trying to kill yourself."

"Fuck you," the noblewoman shot back.

"Why should I?" Yù Lóng asked Aang.

"Because if you don't, I'll pull you off her and _make you_," the Avatar replied, evenly.

"You always come up with the best reasons," was the equally even response. "And will you keep her from killing herself when I let go?"

"Yes."

"Don't, please," Mai said, her voice cracking, though whether that was from rising tears or the earlier damage to her throat was even odds.

"Afraid I might actually be right?" Yù Lóng whispered in her ear as he let go of her wrists.

"It wouldn't matter," she whispered back.

"Are you so certain, princess?" He took some steps back lest Aang send him tumbling head over heels.

"Yes," she said, pulling another knife. Aang trapped her hands in earth before she could use it.

"Man, this is _so_ messed up," he muttered.

"You have no idea. Well, if that's everything, I'm going to get going."

"No, that's not everything. I think you should come back with me. With us," Aang said.

"…why?" Yù Lóng asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Because _I said so_," he shot back, his voice deepening slightly.

Yù Lóng held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Can I at least shave first?"

"You can shave at the campsite," Aang replied.

"As you wish, your Avatarness."

With some impressive juggling by Aang, given that he didn't want Mai to run or try to kill herself, the three of them managed to get back to the campsite, where Teo, Shang, and the Duke were waiting.

Both Shang's and Teo's eyes widened, though the corporal was the first to speak. "Lady Mai!"

The noblewoman, hands and feet bound by earth, said nothing, staring at the ground.

Teo glanced past her to Aang. "What's _she_ doing here?" he demanded.

"She was trying to kill herself, and Yù Lóng cut her down," the Avatar replied.

"…why was she trying to—" Shang began, only to be cut off by Teo.

"Yù Lóng?"

"Yo," said the man in question, raising a hand.

"Shang, could you disarm her, please?" Aang said. "I can't keep watching her forever."

"…you trust me to do that?" Shang asked, momentarily sidetracked.

He nodded. "Sure. Plus, you're the only one who might possibly know how many she has and where she keeps all of them."

"But, wait, isn't he our prisoner, too?" the Duke asked, confused.

"I'm just as confused as you are, kid," Shang told him. "Someone mind untying me?"

"I'll do it," the Duke said. He didn't dislike the soldier, and he trusted Aang's judgment, even if he didn't trust the older man. He picked apart the knots.

"Thank you." Rubbing his wrist idly, Shang approached Mai. "Apologies, my lady," he told her as he unbound her hair to make sure there were no weapons there.

No less than six knives fell out of it--and how she'd managed to hide them there was anyone's guess. She didn't reply.

Briskly and impersonally, Li Shang disarmed the noblewoman, wondering idly how many nobles would call for his head if this story ever got back to the Fire Nation. By the time he'd finished, there was a small pile of knives and shuriken at their feet.

"Are you sure you got all of them?" Aang asked.

"No," the soldier replied. "Lady Mai is renowned for hiding all number of weaponry on her person. There's only one way to be truly certain."

"If you want to strip me, go ahead," she said, idly, in a monotone. "I don't give a damn."

"_I_ do," Shang told her.

"I don't," muttered Yù Lóng.

"No one's stripping anyone," Aang said, hastily. "Besides, to do that, we'd have to unbind her hands and feet and I don't trust her not to try to kill herself again."

"Yes. About that," Shang said. "Why were you…?"

"Fuck you," she said, tiredly. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. I'm sick of being _lied_ to." She glared at Yù Lóng.

"As you wish, then," said the corporal impassively, collecting the weapons and carrying them to Teo. It took several trips; he didn't want to hurt himself.

Mai watched him, dispassionately, then turned to Aang. "What, exactly, do you plan on doing with me?"

"It's a good question," Teo commented. "And how many prisoners do we have, anyway? Does Li even count as one anymore?"

"No, he doesn't," Aang said, with conviction. "I'll talk to Sokka when they all get back."

"Oh, good," said Shang, dropping the last armful of knives. "Teasing him by working myself loose was getting boring."

Mai sat quietly, waiting for an answer.

"Um...well, for now, we'll just keep you here, I guess. Until the others get back," Aang said.

"And what of me, your Avatarness?" Yù Lóng asked.

"You're staying here, too," Aang said. "Until the others get back. Then we'll settle this."

The mercenary sighed and took a seat. "Hooray."

Mai, still bound by the earth, settled herself down, looking for a way to finish what Yù Lóng had interrupted.

Aang and the Duke both sat near the fire, both fidgety, wondering when the others would be back.


	34. Leilani 6

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 34: ****Leilani**

It had been over an hour since the others had scattered into the palace when Toph came pelting back into the prison. "'Lani! 'Lani, are you still there? Please tell me you're still there...!"

"Y-yeah…," the older woman's shaky voice drifted back to her.

"Good, you have to hurry, Sugar Queen says she can only hold him 'til sunrise..." The blind earthbender came into view and stretched out a hand to help the older woman to her feet.

"Wh-what's going on?" she asked as she accepted Toph's hand and followed her.

"It's over, he did it, but he's hurt, badly," the younger woman replied. "Katara says she can hold him until the moon sets, but..."

"…Líng Hún…?" Leilani stopped dead for a moment, then ran past Toph. "Tell me where he is!"

"Yes, I'm _taking_ you there," she snapped. "Calm down, panicking won't help him!"

Leilani hesitated, then nodded, obediently following the Earthbender once more.

It took a little less than ten minutes to get to the throne room, where it had all taken place.

The room was more-or-less destroyed, rubble and tattered wall hangings making crossing it treacherous, at best. Azula's body, slightly charred and impaled by one of Ling Hun's swords and part of a column was sprawled on the ground less than five feet away from where Katara knelt over the assassin--unmasked.

She looked up, face streaked with tears. "I-I'm keeping his heart beating, but once the moon sets, I--"

Leilani said nothing, kneeling beside the younger woman and looking down at Prince Zuko. Detachedly, she took in his injuries:

There were a variety of assorted cuts, burns, and bruises. His left kneecap was shattered, fragments of bone having broken the skin in several places. Even worse, it looked like, when he'd stabbed her, she'd stabbed back--with lightning, through his right kidney and out the back.

"Just keep him alive," Leilani said, her voice scarcely above a whisper. "Toph — I'm going to need water. Lots of it." With that, she scrubbed at her eyes and formed a small sphere of tears above her hand. "I don't really care where you get it from." Using the tears, she set to work fixing the worst of his injuries.

"Got it," she said, and ran off. She returned in less than a minute with an entire cistern. "Will this be enough?"

"Maybe," Leilani replied, bending the water out of it and setting back to work. "Test the level every few minutes. When you feel it getting low, get more. I don't know—" her voice hitched "—how much we'll need."

"Right," the earthbender said, and kept her hand on the cistern.

Katara just kept bending--bloodbending, and she'd sworn she'd never do it again, but it kept his heart beating, kept him breathing, kept him alive. She'd be able to forgive herself for the breach of ethics.

As the night wore on, Leilani used all of her strength to fix Zuko's injuries. He'd lost so much blood, and she couldn't do anything to fix that, but she could keep him from losing more, could repair the damage done to him, could do all in her power to keep him alive. She was so focused on the prince that she didn't even realize she was whispering prayers as she worked.

After some interminable period, his heart started faltering. "No...dammit, dammit, the moon's setting, I can't--"

"You can. You have to," whispered Leilani. They were _not_ losing him. "We have to." She pulled more water from the barrel, chilling it, working half on instinct as she tried even harder to save his life. "Please…"

_I can do this, I'm better than Hama, stronger, I can do it without the full moon_...The younger bender focused, focused all her strength, and somehow got his heart beating again.

"Hold on, Zuko," Leilani said softly, wishing he could hear her. "Come back. It isn't time for you to go yet… please. The world still needs you."

After a long, tense moment, his eyes flickered open, impossibly.

Leilani smiled at him, even as she repaired the damage he had taken in his battle with Azula.

Katara smiled, as well, letting out a relieved little sob, and gently touched his face. "It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay."

"Don't stop," Leilani warned the younger woman. "He's still in the danger zone."

"I'm not stopping," she whispered back, letting her free hand drift down to take his, the other hovering over his chest, keeping his heart beating.

"Good."

It was another three hours before Leilani slipped to one side, unconscious, water splashing all around her. Fortunately, she and Katara had succeeded in keeping the unmasked Red Spirit alive.

Katara hit the ground not long after--she had done the impossible, bloodbending without the moon, and it had taken a lot out of her. After his brief flirtation with consciousness, the Red Spirit had blacked out again, and so, when Sokka and Haru finally caught up, the only person standing was Toph, trying to clean up at least enough that walking across the floor wasn't potentially fatal.

"I knew it," was all Haru said when he spotted the unmasked man. His eyes were dead, his face set.

"..._Zuko_?" Sokka choked out, staring at the scene.

"Oh, come on, you hadn't figured it out?" Toph scoffed.

"We need to get back," Haru said quietly. "Sokka, you take Zuko. I'll take the girls. Toph, kill anyone who tries to stop us."

"Right," Sokka said, tearing himself out of his shock.

"Got it," the younger earthbender said, sparing a worried frown for her friend and occasional student.

Carefully, Haru hoisted Leilani onto his back and bent earth to keep her pressed against him so she wouldn't fall when he straightened up; then he knelt and swept Katara up into his arms. "Let's head back."

"I'll lead," Toph said, as Sokka gingerly picked up the erstwhile prince.

"Right."


	35. Shang 3

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 35: ****Shang**

"They're coming back!" cried Shang; he'd volunteered to take watch just to get away from Yù Lóng's verbal sniping and Mai's depressiveness.

"Oh, good," Aang said, relieved, and launched himself to his feet to go and meet the others.

"What's he doing untied?!" Sokka asked, almost dropping Zuko.

Before Aang could reply, Mai saw him. And screamed. And fainted.

"Told her so," said Yù Lóng smugly, earning a whack from a very annoyed Teo. Shang ignored them both to follow Aang and relieve Haru of some of his burden. The look on the older man's face told him everything he needed to know about Ty Lee.

Sokka put Zuko down carelessly, and sank to the ground himself. "Ok, could someone please tell me what we missed?"

"You do it, Aang," Shang said as he laid Katara down beside Zuko. "You were there for the whole thing."

"...Ok. Um, well, Mai tried to kill herself, Yu Long cut her down, and I brought them both back here. That's the short version. What's more important, is what happened with you all?" Aang supplied.

"Ty Lee is dead," Haru said dully. "So is Azula."

"...Oh, no..." Aang said, missing the second half in the first. "Oh, _no_..."

Gently, Haru laid Leilani down. "I'm leaving."

"Where are you going?" the Avatar asked.

"Away."

"Yeah, I know, but--"

"Leave it, Aang," Sokka said, a little sharper than was strictly necessary.

Without a word to anyone else, Haru walked away from them, vanishing into the distance without looking back.

Aang stared after him, then sighed. "What happens now?"

"We wait for them to wake up and figure out what to do about— oh!" Shang reached into his shirt and removed the pack of papers the Red Spirit had given him.

"...He gave them to you, too?" Aang said, pulling out a nearly identical packet--his was slightly thinner.

"My family's served the Fire Nation for generations pre-dating the monarchy," he explained. "I pledged my loyalty to Princess Zyra weeks ago."

Aang nodded. "He said to open them when it was all over...You want to use yours, or mine?"

"I think I got mine after you go yours, so…" He shrugged and opened it.

On top of the packet was a sealed letter, for Katara. Underneath was a collection of papers, mostly containing information proving that he was, in fact, the Vanished Prince. At the bottom was a will.

Glancing at the unconscious trio, Shang shrugged and read the will.

"Firelady Azula assumed her throne by legal means--she was uninvolved with my disappearance. As such, her remains should be given the same dignity and care as her ancestors'.

Given that her sole legitimate heir is underage, a regent will need to be appointed. As Princess Zyra's next-of-kin, I nominate Lady Toph Beifong to serve in this capacity.

As for my remains, I only ask that, after so long in exile, I be laid to rest in my homeland."

The document was then signed and sealed.

"That idiot was so certain he was going to die," muttered Shang.

"He almost did," Teo pointed out quietly.

"He named _me_ regent? What the _hell_ was he smoking?" Toph snapped.

"How should I know?" the corporal asked. "Ask him when he wakes up."

"Well, it doesn't matter. As her next-of-kin, _he's_ her regent," the earthbender replied.

"…maybe." Shang refused to elaborate on what he meant by that, stole Sokka's sword, and wandering a short distance away to make sure he hadn't lost what skill he had with it.

"Hey! Give it back!" Sokka snapped, chasing after the ex-prisoner.

"Children," muttered Yù Lóng.

"That sword's really special to him," Toph shot back.

"I _was_ referring to the both of them. The soldier only took it to piss him off."

The earthbender sighed. "...hey, was she supposed to be crawling off?" She gestured back to where Mai, up until a few moments ago, had been seemingly securely bound by earth.

Yù Lóng rolled his eyes and raised his voice. "Oi! Arrowbrain!"

Aang jumped, and looked up from where he'd been staring at the three unconscious forms. "Huh? What?"

Yù Lóng simply pointed to where Mai had been.

"Oh, _no_...what if she tries again? Did you see which way she went?"

"Sorry, Aang, I wasn't paying attention," Toph said. She didn't sound sorry. "I only just noticed she was gone.

"I'll get her," said Yù Lóng cheerfully. Too cheerfully.

"No," Aang said, immediately. "I will, I should've been watching her." _Since I'm the only one who seems to care that she's trying to kill herself--and, even if she _did_ kill Ty Lee, Zuko's been through enough today, he doesn't need Mai dead on top of everything_.

Yù Lóng waved him past, idly wondering if he should take that opportunity to clear out.

Then he pictured what he might face if Aang had to track _him_ down, too, and elected to stay where he was.

Aang was gone for nearly two hours. "I couldn't find her. But I didn't find..." He checked to make sure that Zuko, Katara, and Leilani were still out. "I didn't find a body, either."

"Too bad," Yù Lóng said.

Teo hit him again. "Sokka and Li aren't back either."

"If it weren't for how much it would upset Ling Hun, I'd almost agree with you," Aang said, quietly. He'd never forget the look in Haru's eyes when they'd come back.

"You misunderstand me, Avatar," Yù Lóng said as Teo wheeled away from him to check on the unconscious people.

"Then what did you mean?"

Yù Lóng hesitated. "I don't want her dead," he said at last. "Dead people don't feel."

Aang stared at him for a long moment. "What did she do to you?"

"That's telling. And I'm not until I get it back."

The Avatar sighed, nodded, and then went over to join Teo in checking on the two waterbenders and the prince.

Behind them, Yù Lóng rose and vanished into the foliage, searching on his own for Mai. "When do you think they'll wake up?" Teo asked, looking over at Aang.

"No idea," he replied morosely.

"…I wish Sokka was back. He'd know what to do."

"Maybe. I dunno. I'm not sure _I_ know what to do here. Or that anyone would, really."

"What happens when word gets out that Azula is dead?" Teo asked. "That's two kingdoms without a monarch — someone will try for Zyra, won't they?"

"Probably," Aang said. "We...actually might want to head back to the palace. Just in case."

"Sounds like a plan. But how do we get _them_ back?" Teo frowned. "You should go on ahead. We'll catch up when Sokka and Corporal Li get back."

"...Ok. Toph, you want to come with me, or wait here?"

"Until Sparky wakes up and says different or they find the Bitch's will, I'm her regent," Toph reminded him, getting to her feet. "I'm coming."

Teo waved them off, then wheeled around the camp and began packing up with the Duke's help. He hoped this wouldn't be too long of a wait…

No sooner had he thought that than a small sound came from where the three of them were lying. Zuko was struggling to sit up.

The young man immediately wheeled over. "Shouldn't do that," he said easily. "Dunno how bad you were hurt or how much 'Lani and Katara fixed you up."

"...I..." His eyes widened. Frantic, he reached up for his mask. Panic when he found it wasn't there gave him adrenaline, which gave him the strength to finish sitting up and try to push himself to his feet.

"Sit _down_," Teo said quickly. "If you hurt yourself more, Leilani and Katara are in no condition to help you."

"My mask...I--" He faltered, and dropped back to the ground. "I was...they...somehow...I...I was _dead_," he whispered.

The young scientist blinked. "Wait, you were?"

Zuko nodded, then winced. "Y-yeah..."

Grey eyes wide, Teo stared at the unconscious women. "They're _good_," he whispered.

Zuko followed his gaze, and his eyes widened again. "Oh, no..."

"They're okay," the young man said quickly to reassure him. "I guess they just overdid it. Or something. I don't know how bending works…" He swallowed as he noticed the dried blood on Leilani's flesh and undergarments. He didn't think all of it was Zuko's…

"It's...that's not all mine. I don't think...She was mostly throwing lightning around, I only cut myself on debris..." He didn't want to think about his knee, hadn't bothered to check whether the girls had managed to reconstruct it yet. "...She was with Ty Lee. Oh, hell, Ty Lee..."

Teo swallowed. "Haru told us," he said quietly. "Then he left."

"Her throat was cut," Zuko said, staring at Leilani. He didn't care to think what that probably meant about his old friend's death.

Grey eyes went wide, but Teo kept his mouth shut. Zuko didn't need to know that Mai had tried to suicide.

"...Well. I guess...I should head back. Meet my--meet the princess. And...then...turn myself in."

"Not yet," said Teo. "Wait for Sokka and Li to get back, so we can get the girls somewhere better to rest. Aang and Toph went ahead to make sure nothing happens to Zyra."

"...But I need to finish this. Make this right."

"And you won't make it on your own. You came this far with us. Why not finish it with us?"

"Because _I'm_ the one that assassinated my monarch. I have to face justice."

"Don't you want to at least make sure Leilani and Katara are all right?" Teo tried.

"...I'll stay 'til they wake up," he said, not wanting to admit that he hurt like hell and was trying to forget what death was like.

"Thanks," Teo said, relaxing a little.

Zuko stared down at the two girls, while the Duke finished packing up.

There was some noise that heralded the arrival of the warrior and the soldier. "If I had my trident, I would have won."

"You just keep telling yourself that," the younger man replied.

Shang opened his mouth, then noticed Zuko. "Prince!" He bolted past Sokka immediately.

"Hi," he replied, eloquently, still staring at the two waterbenders.

"…where's the Avatar?" Shang asked Teo after a moment.

"Ba Sing Se, to keep an eye on the princess," the scientist answered.

"Once they wake up, I'll join them," Zuko said quietly.

"We all probably should," Shang said. "I'd like to get back to my unit."

The Duke nodded. "How long d'you think they'll sleep?" he asked, looking down at the two waterbenders.

"I don't know," admitted Shang, glancing at Teo.

The scientist shrugged. "I'm no expert, but a few of my guards once were down for a day after a heavy battle three years ago."

Zuko just stared down at the ground or the girls--it wasn't clear--waiting silently for them to wake up so he could turn himself in.


	36. Liàng 5

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 36: ****Liàng**

Liàng was, for his part, unaware of the happenings in Ba Sing Se. Since leaving Bian's home, he had lost all contact with the outside world as he tirelessly searched for some trace of his teenage apprentice.

That was, until what looked like a body, borne up and buffeted by the current, floated down a river he had stopped next to.

Startled, the smith waded out into the water, intending to tow the body to shore and give it a decent burial, at the very least.

She--the body was female--was still alive, though bruised and unconscious. A distinctive, half-healed abrasion around her throat indicated that this was probably a suicide attempt--and not her first.

Frowning, Liàng carried her to the bank and gently set her down, gathering fuel and lighting it with a quick application of the Dragon Breath technique. Carefully, he removed her outermost robes and spread them out to dry before pushing her hair away from her face to check for other injuries.

Aside from the bruises her trip down the river had given her and the mark around her neck, she was unharmed--and very familiar. Lady Mai.

The smith's face closed, becoming expressionless, but he nevertheless continued caring for her.

A short while later, her eyes fluttered open, and she started coughing up river water.

Huge, gentle hands guided her to a position where she wouldn't choke on what was coming up, and steadied her.

When she had finished and caught her breath, she pulled away a little and turned to look and see who had pulled her out of the water.

The cool golden eyes of the smith she had arrested in Ba Sing Se looked calmly back at her.

"...You can put me back in the river now," she whispered, figuring he would, out of vengeance, if for no other reason. She assumed he'd pulled her out before realizing who she was.

"If I was going to kill you, Lady Mai, I would have held you under before you woke up."

"I'm not asking you to kill me. I'm asking you to let me die."

Calmly, he shook his head, releasing her shoulders.

She took that opportunity to pull farther away and push herself to her feet, clearly intending to go for the river again.

One large hand closed around her wrist before she could take more than two steps in that direction.

"Please let go of me," she said, quietly, expressionless.

"I can't do that, Lady Mai," he said, equally expressionless.

"Why not?"

"Because you'll try to drown yourself again."

"Well, obviously. So?"

"Unlike most of our people," possibly the first time the smith had openly embraced his paternal heritage, "I believe that life is sacred."

"You do recall that I am your enemy. That I arrested you."

"I do."

"So you should be pleased to watch me die."

"No." A wry smile briefly crossed his face. "It doesn't please me to watch anybody die."

"Even someone who both wants and deserves to die?" she said, quietly.

"Even then. When I say life, Lady Mai, I mean all life."

"Even that of an insane murderer?" There was actually expression her voice there, a sort of bitter desperation.

"Yes." His voice remained level, his hand on her wrist gentle but unmovable.

She laughed a little, still bitter, then coughed.

The smith rose to his feet and drew her back to the fire, making her sit with all apparent gentleness and courtesy due her rank.

"I killed the only person who's always been there for me," she announced softly. "And for no good reason. And I can't even excuse it, like I can all the war crimes I committed for Azula. This murder...this was all me."

"Lady Ty Lee?" He sounded concerned and sad.

She nodded, staring at the ground. "Even if it won't bring her back, my death will bring some sort of closure for those who loved her."

Liàng thought of the merchant brat, and sighed. "Possibly. Possibly not."

"At the very least, it avenges her. And if I kill myself, no one has to feel compelled to avenge me." It all made perfect sense to her. She shivered slightly, and wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them to her chest.

"Save for those who might be upset that I didn't stop you, were I to allow you to kill yourself," he pointed out.

She laughed a little again, coughed again, and, when she caught her breath, "Like who? _She_ was the only one who was always there."

"You're noble," Liàng replied with a shrug. "Your family would certainly care if you suicided and a worthless peasant did nothing to stop you."

"No one would have to know you were involved," she pointed out.

"I'd know. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself else."

"It's got nothing to do with you. I'm your enemy, and if I don't kill myself, I'll probably end up executed for war crimes, anyway."

"You're also a living person," said Liàng. "And as such, I feel responsibility."

"Why?"

"I already told you that, Lady Mai. Life is a sacred thing in my eyes. As such, I don't believe that it is for you or I or anyone else to decide when it's time for anyone to die."

"I killed my best friend for no good reason. I am deranged and a murderer. If anyone deserves to die, I do."

"I don't believe anyone deserves death," he said patiently.

"Yes, you've made that quite clear," she said, dryly, then started coughing again. Drowning herself shortly after hanging herself had probably not been the most intelligent decision of her life.

He shook his head and sighed. "Sometimes I wonder."

"About what?" she said, when she got her breath back.

Irritatingly, he waved a hand, dismissing the thought. "Nothing."

"I've bared my heart and soul to you," she pointed out. "The least you could do is give me this one little detail in return."

"About how clear it really is to people about my beliefs."

"Oh. Right then." She shivered, and hugged her knees a little tighter. "You can't watch me forever, you realize."

"I don't have to."

She arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"

"You confessed to murder," he reminded her mildly. "The law dictates I turn you in."

"Go ahead. Turn me in, they'll execute me."

"I'm aware," he said softly.

"So I get what I want, anyway." She seemed bored now, until she started coughing again.

"It's for the courts to decide." His hands steadied her again.

She laughed a little, coughed again, then said, "You are aware of the things I did, right?"

"Do recall what I was arrested for."

"Precisely. And most of what I've done is public knowledge. No war tribunal in their right minds will acquit me. Ty Lee's murder just seals the deal."

"It sounds almost like you're trying to talk me out of it, Lady Mai."

She shrugged. "Either way, I end up dead. You turn me in, I get executed. You don't turn me in, sooner or later, I get away from you and execute myself."

The young man simply sighed.

"So we appear to be at an impasse."

He shrugged. "I will do my duty. I will not _like _it, but I will do it."

She nodded. "Go ahead, then," she said, softly.

He eyed her, sighed again, and moved his hands--he hadn't let go of her shoulders until now.

She stared at the ground, coughing occasionally, and waiting for him to go to sleep or something so she could finish what she'd started. Shang hadn't managed to take all of her knives, but she'd rather not risk losing the ones she had left.

He didn't, however, remaining up with her.

She fell asleep first, in fact.

Liàng followed soon after, but lightly enough that the slightest movement from her would wake him.

She didn't sleep well, but she was still asleep when he woke up.

Liàng spent a moment watching her--looking through the eyes of the man, not the agent, Mai was coldly beautiful--then turned to the remains of the fire and poked up the embers to heat up water for tea.

She drifted awake not long after. "...Damn."

"Hoping to wake up before me, Lady Mai?" he asked mildly, pouring some tea into a rough earthen cup.

"Yes," she said, simply, then frowned. "My hair's a mess. May I go wash it?"

"I don't think with my muscles, Lady Mai. Breakfast first, and then we'll both go to the river."

She nodded. "Whatever you say." She'd resigned herself to being his prisoner. She coughed softly and watched him.

He offered her both food and drink and played the congenial host as much as their surroundings allowed.

She accepted both, but didn't eat or drink much, nor say much of anything.

This seemed to suit the bigger man; when they were finished, he wordlessly escorted her to the river.

She behaved herself, washing her hair and twisting it back into its usual style. She wished she could bathe properly, but, whatever she'd said when she was being held prisoner by the Avatar's group, she wasn't entirely comfortable stripping in front of someone else (_or perhaps just _this_ someone else?_), and she doubted the smith would give her the privacy she wanted.

Liàng, for his part, stripped off his shirt and waded into the water, washing himself before going back to shore and pulling the shirt back on before his skin had a chance to dry, causing the material to stick to him.

Mai refused to look. _Zuko is alive. He didn't ever leave me on purpose. I can't look at someone else until I figure out where _we_ stand_.

"I guess we'll have to head for the city," he said aloud, then sighed. It was clear he didn't want to.

"Whatever you say," she said. She honestly didn't care where he brought her--if she was tried, she'd be executed, or she could always escape from him later.

"Then let's go." _I'm sorry, Mi-Cha…_

"Lead the way, Liàng," she muttered.


	37. MiCha 2

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 37: ****Mi-Cha**

Iroh and Mi-Cha left the room and town they'd been hiding in the morning after she showed up there, heading back towards Ba Sing Se, reasoning that Liang was probably being held prisoner somewhere in the capital.

The young earthbender tagged silently along behind Iroh, nervously fiddling with the small sack she'd not let go of since running into the old man. She kept up with him easily, used to Liang's longer strides.

However, before the two of them found the smith, they stumbled across another, much larger party: two unconscious young women, an expatriate soldier, a crippled scientist, and a certain very familiar seventeen-year-old. Iroh froze in his tracks.

Mi-Cha looked up at him. "Mushi?" she asked, a bit concerned by the look on his face.

The seventeen-year-old looked up from where he'd been staring listlessly at the ground. "...Uncle?"

This grabbed the soldier's attention, and he turned. "…_General_?"

Iroh just stared at his nephew, hardly daring to believe what he was seeing.

Teo stared, then wisely wheeled out from between the two Fire Nation princes.

Zuko pushed himself to his feet and staggered over to his uncle, who caught him.

"What--how--" the old man started.

"That's what we've been wondering," said Shang, leaning casually against Sokka.

"Don't know," the younger prince replied. "I thought I was only gone a day, then I woke up and figured out five years had passed."

"The only one who _might_ know isn't here," put in Teo. "Aang's gone to Ba Sing Se."

Iroh arched an eyebrow. "What happened?"

Zuko looked down, and wouldn't answer.

"The Firelady is dead," Shang answered instead. "The Avatar and Bei Fong went to make sure nothing happened to the princess."

"...I see. Well." After five years of fighting for this, it was a little strange to be told so suddenly that his psychotic niece was dead.

Teo nodded to the unconscious Waterbenders. "We're joining them as soon as they wake up."

Iroh nodded. "Do you mind if we join you?"

"I don't see why not. Sokka?"

"Fine by me," the older boy replied.

Shyly, Mi-Cha looked out from behind Iroh, clutching her bag and not saying a word.

"This is Mi-Cha," Iroh said.

"Hey, there," Sokka said, grinning at her.

The girl waved and popped back behind Iroh; so many eyes on her was not something she liked. After a moment, however, she looked out at Sokka again. Shang grinned and elbowed the warrior in the side. "I think she likes you."

Sokka rolled his eyes and didn't rise to the bait. "Sit down. Stay a while."

Mi-Cha edged out of Iroh's shadow and took a seat as a bored Shang wandered to the waterbenders to see how they were faring.

Zuko followed him, and settled back into his seat next to the tree, staring at the ground.

Teo wheeled over to the Duke as Mi-Cha looked up at Iroh. "Is it okay if I work on my bending here?"

"Of course," he said.

Brightening, she took a ruby from the bag and cupped it in her hands, staring very intently at the red stone.

The Duke wandered over to watch, staying far enough away that she couldn't accuse him of trying to steal any other stones she had in the bag.

Curious, Shang also looked on.

Turning her hands so that the ruby was resting in her left palm, she made some slow movements with her right hand over the top, shaping it at a slug's pace. Her brow scrunched up in concentration.

"Wow..." the Duke breathed, impressed.

"Thanks," Mi-Cha said, not looking up. "I've been doing this since I first learned bending."

"That's really neat!"

"Yeah, but I can't do normal bending. I can only shape things."

"Still, it's really cool," the Duke insisted, grinning at her.

Shyly, the girl grinned back at him.

At around that time, Katara stirred and started to wake up.

"Katara!" Sokka cried, running for his sister, to help her sit up.

"Katara!" Teo echoed, wheeling over. "How do you feel?"

"Tired. Um." She turned to see Zuko and Leilani, still unconscious. "A-are you ok?" she asked the prince. He nodded.

Leilani groaned then, opening her eyes.

"'Lani! You're awake!" Katara said, relieved.

"Mm." The older woman struggled to sit upright; her body didn't seem to want to obey her.

"Maybe you should stay down...?" the other waterbender suggested.

"L-Ling Hun…" She gave up and lay back, closing her eyes. "Is he…?"

"I'm here," he replied, quietly.

"Oh." Now Leilani smiled. "Good."

"Maybe we should wait a little longer before following the others into the city," Sokka suggested, still clinging to his sister's hand.

"Probably a good idea." Shang knelt beside Leilani and helped her sit, leaning her back against his leg. "I'm not sure when they'll be able to move entirely on their own."

"We could get moving in the morning," Iroh suggested.

"What about Liang?" Mi-Cha asked quietly. "If Azula is dead…"

"He left this morning to go look for his apprentice," Sokka told her. "Is that you?"

Mi-Cha dropped the ruby. "Yes! He was here? Where did he go?" She was all ready to run off after him.

"He went to go talk to Bian, then to look for you," the Duke told her.

"Which way?" she asked eagerly.

"You can go look for him later," Iroh said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "It's getting dark now, anyway. You'd only get lost searching now."

The girl visibly deflated. "All right," she said reluctantly, ducking her head.

"You'll find him," Iroh promised her. "Now that Azula is no longer on the throne, he probably doesn't need to hide anymore."

She picked up the ruby and nodded. "Then I should work more on these, so I'm ready when he goes back to work," she declared.

"Good idea," he said, smiling at her.

She grinned back and knelt to her task.

"I'm hungry," said Leilani softly.

"Me, too," Katara said, as well.

"I'll find some food for you two," Sokka said.

"I'll help," Shang added, leaning Leilani against a tree.

"We'll be back soon," the younger man promised the two young women, then went off to find food.

"You should eat something, too, Zuko," Iroh said. His nephew didn't answer.

Frowning, Leilani looked up at the former Blue Spirit, worry in her eyes.

He wouldn't look at anyone, staring down at the ground.

"Ling H--Zuko?" she tried.

"Yeah?" he said, still not looking up.

"Are…are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"…oh. Okay." _Then why won't you look at me?_ she didn't ask. Not now, not in front of everyone.

Katara frowned. "Are you sure?" she asked. There was something about his tone that worried her--and she wasn't sure she and Leilani had managed to heal all of the damage from his fight with Azula.

"Yes," he said, still not looking up.

_Liar_, thought Teo, watching over Mi-Cha and the Duke.

Katara bit her lip. _Then why won't you meet anyone's eyes_?

The Duke was watching Mi-Cha's hands--and her jewels--with avid interest. Wisely, the girl had tucked the bag into her inner clothing, where she would _know_ if someone tried to take them. The ruby held all of her attention otherwise, as she shaped multiple tiny facets in the stone.

"What's that going into?" he asked, after a moment.

"A ring," she replied. "Some official or other is proposing to the girl he likes."

"Nice of him."

"Nah, he's an idiot," she said absently. "She doesn't like him at all, but the marriage is advantageous to her family. He figures jewelry will win her over, but she hates rubies. She likes sapphires more, and emeralds."

"How do you _know_ all this stuff?" he asked, wonderingly.

"Easy. I watch and I listen. I like to get to know the people who gifts are intended for, so Liang and I can make 'em the best."

"Wow. That's really impressive."

Mi-Cha made a face. "Liang says I'm just nosy."

"Well, do you ask a lot of questions, or do you just listen?" the Duke asked, reasonably.

"I listen, and only ask sometimes."

"Then that's not nosy."

Mi-Cha beamed at him.

He grinned back.

"That's too adorable," said Teo, softly enough that they couldn't hear him.

"It really is," Iroh murmured back.

Startled, Teo looked back; he hadn't realized the old general had gotten so close to him.

He smiled slightly, then turned a worried frown on his nephew, who hadn't moved. "Do you know what happened?"

"Uh-uh," Teo said. "Soldiers took Leilani and Ty Lee this morning; Zuko, Haru, Toph, Sokka, and Katara went after them. When they came back, Haru was carrying Leilani and Katara and Sokka was carrying Zuko. Haru only told us that Ty Lee and Azula were dead, then he left."

Iroh bowed his head. "What a nightmare."

"Yeah…" Teo leaned his head against the back of his chair and looked up at the sky with a hint of longing. "But the nightmare is almost over. I can't wait to see my dad again."

Iroh nodded, but said nothing.

"Hey, watch this!" said Mi-Cha to the Duke, covering the ruby with her hand. "Now it's a ruby…" She moved her hand, and a blue stone winked up at the Duke. "And now it's a sapphire!"

His eyes lit up. "How'd you _do_ that?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just _do_ it. I think it's 'cause rubies are just red sapphires."

"What d'you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Different stones _feel_ different," she explained. "Usually an Earthbender knows what kinda ground they're standing on, even if they can't see it. It's like that for me with jewels, and rubies and sapphires feel the same."

"Neat!"

She grinned and changed it back. "I can't make the colors change too much, though," she added. "It makes me tired."

He nodded. "Are you going to leave it changed when you give it to the lady?"

"The customer ordered a ruby," she replied with a sigh. "So when he comes back complaining about how he really meant a sapphire, I'll change it then. And Liang will charge him." She grinned then. "He calls it 'Idiot Tax'."

He giggled. "That's a good word for it."

"Yeah. He doesn't show it, but Liang's got a really short temper. You can tell when people are starting to make him mad, 'cause his shoulders go all tense and he starts to give you this look, like he's setting you on fire with his eyes. It creeps all the locals out 'cause he looks Fire Nation."

"Yeah, that does sound creepy," the Duke admitted.

"That's why I don't make him angry." She grinned at him, shaping some more facets.

"Sounds smart." He grinned back.

"It is. Liang is _scary_ when he's angry. I think he could beat one of the Dai Li without any weapons."

The Duke's eyes widened. "_Wow_."

She nodded. "He's amazing. I wish he was my uncle or brother or something."

He nodded. "I don't blame you."

Mi-Cha scowled. "An' people will probably try to go around him when I'm old enough to get married, since he's not my legal guardian."

"You could always lie and tell everyone he is."

"Wouldn't work," she sighed. "We live in Ba Sing Se. There are records, and they show that I don't have a legal guardian."

"...Oh. That sucks."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll just run away when I'm sixteen."

"Or you could ask Toph," Zuko said, unexpectedly.

"Huh?" Mi-Cha turned to look at the prince, confused.

"She's in charge now, at least until someone challenges her. She could make him your legal guardian."

The girl's hands fell into her lap as she considered his words. "Hm…"

"Yeah! That would work!" the Duke said.

"Worth a shot," Mi-Cha said at last, smiling at Zuko. "Thanks!"

He shrugged, and turned back to his listless contemplation of the backs of his hands.

Mi-Cha returned to her work as well, apparently pleased by the attention she was getting from the Duke.

Sokka and Shang returned about then, with food. "Just give us a few minutes, ok?"

Leilani nodded tiredly as the Fire Nation soldier and the Water Tribe warrior began preparing the meal.

Katara just curled up, trying to stay awake long enough to get food.

Between the two of them--miraculously _not_ arguing--Sokka and Shang got food to the exhausted benders, then passed around to everybody else.

Zuko ignored them, still staring at the ground.

"Thank you," Iroh said, with a little smile.

Shang grinned impudently at him. "Glad to help, general."

"Who were you serving under?" the old man asked after a minute.

"Immediate, or overall?" the soldier asked.

"Either. Or both. Just making conversation."

"My CO was Captain Zheng," replied Shang. "My unit, however, was ultimately under the command of General Hao."

"I never knew Zheng. And I never liked Hao."

The soldier shrugged. "We don't get to pick 'em."

"Which is, perhaps, unfortunate."

Shang nodded, and was silent for a moment before asking, "Sir, you traveled with Prince Zuko during his exile, right?"

"Yes, I did. What's on your mind?"

"My cousin, Li Yan, served aboard the prince's ship," explained the corporal. "We haven't heard from him since Admiral Zhao's siege on the north. I was wondering if you knew…?"

"Ah, yes, I remember him. He was captured, at the North Pole. He's probably still there."

Tension flowed from Shang's shoulders. "I see. Thank you."

The old man smiled. "You're welcome."

Immediately after eating, both Leilani and Katara fell asleep again; Mi-Cha wasn't far behind them, having used up far too much energy showing off for the Duke's benefit.

Zuko remained leaning against his tree, staring at nothing, until he drifted off as well.

Shang drifted away from the group a short distance and began an evening workout while Teo stared at the night sky, wishing he had his glider.


	38. Shang 4

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 38: ****Shang**

Zuko drifted awake less than a half-hour before dawn, shaken out of half-formed dreams of paradise by half-formed nightmares of his family. _It never ends_, he thought. He pushed himself to his feet, biting back a cry of pain when he put too much weight on his still-shattered knee. _I have to end it_. He steadied himself on a tree, and limped off in the direction of his sister's capital.

Shang woke as Zuko passed by his head; shifting slightly, as though still asleep, he watched through one half-open eye as the prince staggered off. Shaking his head, he waited until Zuko was out of earshot, then silently pulled himself upright and set off after him, taking care to stay several yards behind the younger man.

He kept moving, even after he fell over several times, each time taking him a little longer to get up afterwards.

Shang just shook his head, waiting for the inevitable moment when Zuko wouldn't be able to get up at all.

It came, after an impossibly long time--he was nearly halfway to the wall.

With a soft laugh, Shang approached his monarch. "You don't know when to quit, do you?"

"Why did you follow me?" he asked by way of reply, still trying to push himself back to his feet.

"In case you needed a hand. I figured you wouldn't get very far with your knee out." There was respect, not censure, in the older man's tone. "You got a lot further than I thought."

"Good for me," the teenager shot back, using a nearby tree to drag himself back up.

"No need for the attitude, Prince Zuko," said Shang, watching him.

"I know. Sorry," he said, shortly. He steadied himself, and tried to get moving again, and his knee gave out, and he almost, but not quite, managed to bite back a cry of pain.

Shang walked by his side now, not offering him a hand, but silently there if the Prince needed someone to lean on. They'd run out of trees sooner or later.

He tried, and failed, to drag himself back to his feet. His knee just kept giving out. He swore under his breath.

Without a word, Shang leaned down, grabbed the prince's arm, and hauled him to his feet.

"Thank you," he said, after a moment.

The corporal nodded. "Can you make it? Or do you need a shoulder? Keep in mind that lying for your pride will only make it worse."

"I'm fine," he said. "And I should go alone. No need for anyone else to get hung out to dry with me."

"Who's getting hung out for anything?" Shang asked him. "I'm certainly not."

"If you're with me, you might. I'm going to turn myself in, remember?"

"What would I get in trouble for? Collaborating? Hell, you guys captured me." He rubbed the back of his head ruefully.

"Yeah, but we let you go and you didn't un-defect," he pointed out.

"Who said I have to tell them that?"

"You'd lie for me? _Why_? You don't owe me anything."

"Maybe I like you, your highness. Maybe I'm just in a good mood since finding out my cousin's still alive."

"Good for you. But still. Why?"

"Who said I was lying for _you_?"

"All right, if you're lying for yourself, why come with me at all?"

"…could claim to have captured you? I dunno. I'm an army grunt, highness. Thinking isn't encouraged."

"You should go back to the others. I'll get to the city on my own."

"That's okay; I'll stick with you."

"You'll get arrested."

"Maybe, maybe not." He shrugged. "You can't know that for certain."

"You defected. It's pretty damn safe to assume there'll be fallout."

"Are you going to tell them that? I'm not."

"I'm not going to say anything, but you've probably already been reported missing, and if you turn up with me, assumptions will be made," Zuko pointed out. "It's too risky. You should head back."

"What, and bitch at the Water Tribe kid some more? This is more interesting."

"...How is watching me limp towards my own destruction more interesting than picking fights with Sokka?"

"Do you _really_ want me to go back and tell everyone what you're doing? Guaranteed someone will be sent to bring you back. And odds are they'll be in time, too."

"No, I want you to go back and _not_ tell everyone what I'm doing."

Shang grinned. "And what do you think the odds are on that one?"

He eyed the older man. "If I specifically told you not to?"

"Who had me pledge loyalty to Princess Zyra again? Oh, right, I remember."

"...Right, right, that. Well, if you come with me, it might jeopardize your chances of helping her. So, you should go back. And not send someone else after me. Because as soon as you leave, I'm taking a different path to the city."

Shang sighed, and dropped his jocular tone. "Zuko, in what universe is it all right for you to be the only one to accept the consequences of your actions?"

"When they're _my_ actions, which I decided to take on my own. And when I'm the one who assassinated my sister, without anyone else there. That's when," he snapped.

"And I'm the one who defected," Shang coolly countered. "Like it or not, you're stuck with me."

"No one else needs to get in trouble for this. I'm the one who killed her, I should take the fall."

"…are you only listening to every other sentence I say?"

"I'm trying to stay on my feet until I get to the wall, I'm not really paying attention to much else anymore."

"Then pay attention to this: I'm staying with you. Accept it and move on."

"Yes, but _why_?"

"My reasons are my own, prince. And you're not listening anyway."

He took a deep breath, and turned to look at the other man. "I'm listening now. Why are you still with me?"

"Because I want to be. Because what's to stop someone from assassinating you on the way to turn yourself in if you go alone? Because I _did_ defect, and because I'd have to own up to that sooner or later."

He thought for a minute. "It's unlikely anyone will try to assassinate me. I don't think anyone except Azula saw my face. As for the rest..." He shrugged. "I think it's a bad idea."

"They can see your face now," Shang pointed out. "The same people who would kill Zyra for being the Firelady's daughter would kill you for being the Firelady's brother, vanished or not."

"...and I lost my mask in the palace. Of course."

Shang shrugged.

"Fine. Follow me if you want. I don't really care." He started to limp off again, and fell over again.

Shang smirked, having won, and pulled the prince to his feet again. He didn't say a word again without Zuko initiating conversation.

Which the prince didn't, being more focused on getting to his goal. They were, of course, challenged at the gate--disorganized as the city was in the wake of the Firelady's assassination, Toph had managed to keep law and order to at least this limited extent.

"My name is Zuko, son of Ursa and Firelord Ozai," the prince said woodenly when challenged. "I assassinated my sister, and I'm here to face justice."

There was a long moment of silence, then a pair of guards in red uniforms arrested the completely compliant prince and led him away.

Another guard turned to Shang. "And who are you?"

"Corporal Li," the soldier replied, "late of Captain Zheng's unit."

"You'll need to come with us, then, Corporal," the guard said, quietly.

"Somehow, I expected so. Lead the way."

The guard led him to a prison--the one Ty Lee and Liang had originally been held in when they'd been arrested some time before. "You will wait here," he said, quietly.

"Sir," was the equally soft reply.

The guard locked him into a cell--not the one the two previous traitors had been held in, but one of similar design--and left him there to contemplate the universe, or his crimes, or whatever else he cared to think about while imprisoned.

Mostly, the soldier thought that he should have pranked Sokka before he left.


	39. The Duke

**Disclaimer: **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The plot is the property of the authors. The authors are in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**Chapter 39: ****The Duke**

The Duke was the next to drift awake, about ten minutes after the prince and ex-soldier had left. "Hey! Where'd they go?"

"Wha?" said Mi-Cha, who was beside him. "Where'd who go? What's going on?"

"Zuko and Shang. They're gone."

"…izzat bad?"

"Dunno. Maybe? 'Lani and Katara won't like it. Prolly Iroh won't, either."

"...We should wake him up," Mi-Cha said, waking up fully.

"...You go ahead and do that."

Carefully, the earthbender approached the sleeping general. "Mus--I mean, Iroh?"

He came awake instantly. "What is it?"

"Shang and Zuko are gone."

"Dammit. Do you know how long ago they left?" He stood up.

"Uh-uh. Sorry," she replied, scooting back out of his way.

"Well, they've probably headed for the city. We should get the others up and move in that direction ourselves."

"Can Leila--Lei--the waterbenders even walk?"

"If they can't, Sokka and I can help them."

She nodded and scuttled over to the two girls to try and wake them up.

Katara drifted awake. "...mmph?"

"Zuko and Shang are gone," Mi-Cha told her. "We have to go to the city. Can you walk?"

"Dunno. Don' think so..."

Mi-Cha wished she was as strong as Liang as she tried to wake up Leilani; she had to shake the older woman to get her attention. When asked about walking, Leilani replied in the negative.

Iroh, meanwhile, woke up Sokka and Teo, and, with the old general carrying Leilani and Sokka his sister, they made a slow start towards the city.

Unsurprisingly, the exhausted islander fell asleep in Iroh's arms while Mi-Cha continuously went ahead of them, then came back, each time looking for signs that the two Fire Nation fighters had passed through.

Katara also fell asleep, and the Duke, after a while, found what looked like a trail. "Hey! They might've gone this way."

"Looks like someone fell down," Mi-Cha said. "Does Zuko do that a lot?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Teo said dryly. "I'll tell you about the fight he and Leilani had the night they rescued me sometime."

"My nephew is rather stubborn," Iroh said. "And he has a habit of ignoring his body when he feels there is a more important goal to achieve."

Mi-Cha sighed, and returned to scouting ahead with the Duke.

The two men's trail wasn't hard to follow, and led right to the walls of Ba Sing Se, where the group was challenged by the guards.

Mi-Cha drew herself up to her full height and informed them that she lived in the city.

Iroh kept his head bowed, his hair screening his face. After a moment's consultation, the guards opened the gate and let them in.

It wasn't until they were past the guard's line of sight and earshot that Mi-Cha relaxed. "I didn't think they'd buy that…"

"Given the assassination, and the fact that Zuko probably just passed through here, the guards were likely to be frazzled. That would mean either extreme paranoia, which would be bad for us, or extreme carelessness, which could be bad for the city," Iroh explained.

"At least I didn't have to try bribes," Mi-Cha murmured, well aware she possessed a small fortune in gemstones on her person.

"Those don't work as often as they should," Teo replied with a sigh.

"We need a safe place to leave Leilani and my sister before we go looking for Zuko and Shang," Sokka said, after a brief silence. "Mi-Cha, you know any good places?"

"Well, there's my place, but I dunno if the door's still up. I think the Dai Li might've broken it down when they took Liang."

"What about the room I was staying in?" Iroh asked.

Mi-Cha brightened immediately. "Oh, yeah! Nobody could've got in that! Follow me!" She scampered down a side street.

The others followed, and carefully laid the two healers in the secret room. "One of us should probably stay with them, just in case," Sokka said.

"But who?" Mi-Cha wondered.

"In case of what?" Teo wanted to know.

"In case something goes horribly wrong and someone finds the room?" the Duke suggested.

"Yeah, what he said. And I don't know who. Who wants to stay?" Sokka asked.

"I think it's a fair bet that if people find the room, they want nothing good and might even hurt Leilani and Katara," Teo said. "Leilani is known to several Fire Nation soldiers as well, so we might want to leave a fighter with them."

"Exactly," Sokka said.

Mi-Cha hung onto his wrist and looked up at him with big grey eyes. "Would you? You're a _good_ fighter, according to Liang…"

Sokka spluttered for a minute, then nodded, unable to say no to that face. "All right. All right, I'll stay with them."

Brightly, Mi-Cha hugged him. "I'll stay, too, and clean up upstairs. See if I can find what was stolen while me and Liang were gone."

"Good idea," Iroh said. "Teo, the Duke and I will go look for Shang and my nephew."

"Right. We probably want to check the prisons and the palace," Teo said.

The Duke nodded. "Right, got it. Lead the way."

The two young men followed Iroh, under the assumption that he knew what he was doing.

He led them to prison after prison, eventually coming to where Shang was being held.

When the door opened, Shang looked up. "Oh. It's you," he said evenly.

"Yes. Where's Zuko?" Iroh asked.

"I don't know. They took him away before talking to me," he replied. "Zuko confessed to assassinating the Firelady and they marched him off."

Iroh nodded. "Then he will be in a much more secure facility than this."

"Sorry I couldn't help more."

"It's not your fault," Iroh said.

"Maybe," was the somewhat cryptic reply. "How're the benders?"

"Still out. They probably will be for a while. They're in a safe place. Sokka and Mi-Cha are with them."

"That's good." Shang sat down in his seat and leaned back closing his eyes. "Good luck finding him."

"You're staying here?" the Duke asked, bewildered.

"Yep."

"Zuko's not the only one with an overdeveloped sense of responsibility," Teo muttered.

"I heard that!"

"All right. We'll leave you here if you want to stay here," Iroh said. "Teo, the Duke, come on, we need to find Zuko."

The scientist nodded, turning his chair and following the former general out of the ex-soldier's lonely prison block.

"We should go for the palace," Iroh decided. "Someone there will know where he's been taken. Besides, we should check in with Toph and the Avatar, make sure that Zyra is all right."

"Will they even let us in?" Teo asked him.

"We'll have to try."

He nodded, and followed.

The Duke did, as well.

By some miracle, or perhaps due to the confusion in the wake of Azula's assassination, they managed to slip into the palace. The first person they found who wasn't a guard was a pale, slight, fragile-looking noblewoman in red and gold, kneeling in a doorway.

Teo glanced at her, then asked Iroh, "Maybe she'd know?" he asked, indicating the woman.

Iroh looked at her, then his eyes widened. "Lady Minami?" he asked, softly.

The young woman inclined her head a little farther, as if to indicate she heard and understood.

"My nephew was arrested earlier at the wall," he said, softly. "Do you know what happened to him?"

She nodded.

"Where is he?"

"Gone, sir," she murmured.

"…gone? Gone where?" Teo asked.

"You need to tell us, Lady Minami," Iroh said, when the young woman hesitated.

"They were afraid someone would try to kill him, sir, so they slipped him out of the city. An hour ago, with Lord Shang."

Teo blinked. "Huh? But Shang is still in prison…we just saw him. And I thought he was a commoner…"

"Different Shang," Iroh said. "This one is a lesser son of one of the Seven."

"…I knew that." Teo coughed into his fist.

"Which gate did they leave through?" Iroh asked.

She tensed a little, just barely perceptible, and was silent for a long moment.

"Please?" Teo asked her, a little plaintively, and then gambled. "Leilani would cry if anything happened to him."

Lady Minami tensed further, and shook her head.

"I don't think she knows," the Duke said.

"Damn," muttered Teo. "Ah well. Thanks, Minami."

She kept her head bowed, and said nothing.

"By now, he'll be out of the city, and by the time we figure out which gate he left through, he'll have too much of a head start," Iroh said. "Damn."

"Should we go back and get Shang? Er, Corporal Li?"

"If you think we can talk him into leaving with us, then we can try again."

Teo sighed. "Nah, if we want that, we should send Sokka."

The general nodded. "Agreed."

"Iroh! Teo! The Duke!" Aang came running up to them.

"Aang!" Teo cried, grinning up at the Avatar.

Minami almost visibly flinched and drew back a bit.

"How is the princess?" Iroh asked, getting straight to the point.

"She's fine. Toph's with her now. I was just on my way to switch with her so she could browbeat the nobles into accepting Zuko's will. Where is he, anyway?"

"Gone," said Teo sourly, wheeling his chair between the Avatar and Minami casually. "He turned himself in for killing Azula, and then they snuck him out of the city."

"...I'm sorry, Toph and I tried to get things under control, but I guess we just...weren't fast enough."

"It's not your fault," Iroh said, soothingly.

"We should be able to find him. Or who knows, maybe Haru will." Teo didn't sound as though he was going to count on the earthbender for noticing outside stimuli, however.

"My worry is that we won't until he's already back in the Fire Nation," Iroh said, quietly.

Teo put his head in his hands. "Great. So we have to get there first somehow?"

"What happens if we don't?" Aang asked.

"I have no idea, and that's what concerns me. Matters this grave are usually decided by the Firelord," Iroh replied. "But, given that Zyra is a year old, uncrowned, and has no official regent..."

"Until they accept Zuko's will," Teo pointed out. "He gave a copy to Aang and to Corporal Li, after all…"

"But they can't accept it until they have determined whether or not he's a traitor and a murderer," Iroh reminded him.

"So…we're stuck?"

"Sounds like it," Aang said, flopping onto the ground.

"This isn't your fault," Iroh said, a little more sharply than he'd intended.

"Yeah, it is. If I hadn't messed up five years ago..."

"By killing Ozai?" Teo asked, confused. "Aang, there's no way you could have known that Azula would have--"

"I should've kept an eye on her," Aang replied, shifting a little uncomfortably. "Made sure she didn't do anything crazy."

"But Katara and Sokka carried you out of the palace unconscious."

"If I'd been paying attention to her, that wouldn't have happened."

Teo sighed. "I don't think it's your fault."

"Still. I feel like it was."

The boy sighed, then his expression suddenly cleared. "Wait--Iroh, couldn't you speak for Zuko?"

"I'm a convicted traitor and an escaped convict," the general replied dryly. "Somehow I doubt my word would count for much."

"…Aang?"

"I could try, but I've sort of been an enemy of the Fire Nation for a hundred and seventeen years."

"There has to be _something_!" cried Teo. "We have to help him somehow!"

"I know, but I can't think of anything that won't potentially backfire and make things worse," Iroh said, quietly.

"It isn't _fair_," the frustrated scientist scowled. "He _saved_ me!"

"We'll figure this out," Aang promised the older boy, somewhat hollowly. "Somehow."

"So do we go to the Fire Nation?"

"We'll have to, if we want to break him out of prison," the Duke said.

"How many of us?" Teo wanted to know. "Who knows when Katara and Leilani will recover."

There was a slight gasp from behind them, barely audible.

Teo blinked and turned his head.

The pale noblewoman behind them looked up, met Teo's eyes for an instant, then her eyes widened and she dropped them again, tensing a little more.

"What is it?" he asked her gently.

"Nothing, sir," she whispered, a lifetime of indoctrination in obedience and submission the only thing keeping her voice steady.

He frowned, but turned back to Iroh and Aang and raised an eyebrow, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know if I should go," Iroh said quietly. "Those who don't hold my treason and escape against me will assume Zuko is my puppet if I go to speak for him."

"…but you didn't even see him until last night."

"Those are the facts. What waits for us in the Firenation is politics. They very rarely coincide."

Teo made a face. "I remember," he said.

"And me going might not help, either," Aang admitted.

"Then who can help him? Everyone knows I worked unwillingly for Azula."

"I don't know," Iroh said, quietly.

"Maybe we should talk to Sokka. And Katara, when she wakes up."

"Good idea," Aang said.

"Then let's go."

"I have to tell Toph first," Aang said. "Where are you guys, so I can find you after?"

"Where Liang used to live," Teo answered.

"All right. I'll see you soon." The Avatar ran off down the hallway to find his old friend.

Iroh considered for a minute, then turned to the young woman still kneeling nearby. "Minami? Would you like to come with us?"

"If it please you," she said, even-toned, but a little too quick to be as indifferent as she pretended.

Teo turned his wheelchair around, more enthusiastically than he felt. "Then let's go!"

Iroh nodded, and led the way, the Duke and Lady Minami following.


End file.
